Shinobi Mine
by Nikaido Akira
Summary: Rivaled from their childhood, Naruto and Kiba hate each other more than anything in their own little worlds. But forcing them together for a mission could forge an awesome friendship or maybe even more. This is YAOI. Don't read if you don't like. KibaNaru
1. Chapter 1

**Shinobi Mine**

Naruto awoke to a rapping on his door. A small beam forced its way through the curtains. The light blinded him.

'Why was the sun so bright?' he wondered.

Again, there was a slight tap on his front door.

'Who the hell would be bothering me this early in the morning?'

"Hai, hai! I'm coming Damned It!"

He padded his way through his house, slowly while gripping the walls for support. He checked to make sure that he was presentable in appearance and not naked like when Sakura woke him up once. He hated when she bothered him and he thought that she had deserved the nose bleed that he had induced. It was a good thing that he forgot to take off his boxers the night prior when he went to bed. Otherwise he would be stark naked right now.

The tapping persisted. This time he could hear an agitated grunt that had a hint of inpatients in it.

"I said I'm coming!"

'Impatient bastard!' Naruto thought to himself.

He finally made it to the door. He creaked it open a little only to have the sun blind him so that he could not see exactly who was standing on his porch. Giving up on straining his vision to see who the pestering guest was he quickly asked, "Who the Fuck is there? And what the Hell could you possibly want at this Fucking time in the morning?"

Naruto was rather pissy and didn't appreciate being woken up in the morning.

"Well you Fucking Dobe, I wouldn't have to bother you and your beauty sleep if you would have actually paid attention to the time and been at the meeting that we were supposed to have with Lady Tsunade!" Kiba practically barked at Naruto.

Naruto realized than that he was speaking to Kiba and he Hated the poor pathetic bastard with a passion. Kiba has always been popular and mocked him when they were growing up and went to the Academy under the instruction of Iruka-sensai. Naruto just couldn't understand why all the girls loooooved Kiba and hated him. Not only did the girls hate him but every one else as well. He had so many friends in school and Naruto was the loner. He resented Kiba for all of the people that cared about him.

It was not only the people that Naruto disliked. The fact that irked Naruto most was that the center of attention himself, Kiba, didn't even seem to care or notice the attention. He only cared about the little puppy he always had with him.

He brought the pale off-white pup everywhere he went. He even brought the mangy thing to class. The pup seemed to make a little nest a-top Kiba's head or in his shirt.

Kiba was a little taller than Naruto with hair that was slightly longer than what he would consider short but not quite medium length. The hair seemed to jut in spikes and yet appear to be soft. He had dark eyes that seemed deep and had a slight crimson edge to them. The Inuzuka family had much similar attributes to the animals they take care of. Buy and large they weren't bile or rude but they share more physical features with the animals. For example, they had relatively sharper fang-like teeth and had a wild appearance. Although the teeth were longer and sharper, they didn't seem out of place but seemed to complete the look of feral beast-like qualities.

On each of Kiba's cheeks there are elongated, red, triangle-shaped tattoos. They are apparently a sign that the Inuzuka family pride themselves on. Back to now on Naruto's porch.

Naruto, hearing that it wasn't so early glanced at his clock. The time read 1:48 P.M.

"Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit SHIT!" was all that exited Naruto's mouth.

Naruto, either forgetting that Kiba was standing at his door or not caring if he was there or not, slammed the door and ran to his room to get dressed. The door did not latch and just lazily swung open to reveal a stupefied brunette.

Kiba quickly recovered from the initial shock of having a door slammed in his face and thought it best just to wait for the blond outside on his porch.

'Naruto can certainly act like a child some times. All he ever thinks about is training and ramen. I wonder if he would even survive if he didn't have people taking car of him and babying him all the time.' Kiba was thinking maliciously.

Even though both boys were seventeen, Kiba still treated Naruto like a kid. Naruto was only slightly shorter than Kiba and had a very small physique. Being this small made it so that his opponents would often underestimate him and hide his brute strength.

But more on his physical appearance. Naruto had very striking blond hair that seemed to dance with the wind and glow in the sun. He had bronze sun-kissed skin that only added to his girlish appearance.

Naruto finally came out, fully dressed this time.

"We have a new mission that was assigned to us by the Hokage herself." Kiba stated nonchalantly.

"Oh. Well then why didn't one of _my_ teammates come tell me? You aren't even part of Team 7."

"Yes, but she has assigned the mission to both your team and mine."

"Why would Granny Tsunade assign us both?"

"Maybe she thought that you couldn't handle it alone, kid!"

Kiba knew that this simple word would just irritate Naruto to no end. He took pride in pissing off the blond.

"Get the Hell out of my house, Dog-Breath!"

"Oooooh! Did I just hit a nerve?"

"Beat it! You worthless bastard!"

"You wanna go, Kid?"

"No, I want you to get the Hell outta my house!"

"Don't push your weight around, Kid! Especially since you ain't got much!"

There bickering continued and they didn't notice that Tsunade had come to the house to see what was taking so long for Kiba to fetch Naruto.

"Naruto! Kiba! At least _ACT_ like decent Shinobi!"

"He started it!" They both said together as they pointed to the other.

"I don't give a rat's ass who started it. If either of you want this mission I suggest you learn to get along!"

"Me! Get along with Kiba!"

"Yea! He is way too immature for me to get along with!" Kiba retorted.

"Well. You just have to settle your differences! Otherwise I'm knocking both of you down to Genin!" Tsunade Threatened.

Both Naruto and Kiba gasped. How could Tsunade even think about doing anything of that severity! She could be really cruel if she wanted to be.

"Now gather your teammates and meet me in my office in one hour. UNDERSTAND!"

"Yes Ma'am!" They said in unison as they ran to gather their teammates.

Yea so this is my first fanfic ever and I lended it to a friend who writes all the time and she says it is pretty awesome for my first fanfic. I have written four chapters so far and plan on making this one in the teen range. I believe in development of relationships. That makes them mean more to me. Review so I can see what to fix on my recent explorations in the literature department of fanfics. Love you all. P.S. My username may be subject to change but the story name will be the same. P.M. me if there are any good advice you have and friend me if you want.


	2. Chapter 2: Mind Over Matter

Chapter Two

Mind Over Matter

They arrived at Tsunade's office. Both teams had gathered into the round office and stood in front of the Hokage's desk in two lines. The Hokage herself was in the chair, looking rather unpleasant and disheveled. The room itself was not much but a bunch of bookshelves of records and various reading material. There were two chairs in the room that made up the only other furniture than the desk and office chair. Tsunade looked at the two teams with unappreciative eyes and a very bad temper.

"Now that you all are here, I will explain the new mission."

"Why is the old lady explaining this mission to us? Shouldn't it be someone who is more adept and more qualified?" Sai remarked.

Naruto and Sakura looked at their team member with horror struck in their eyes. They could not believe that Sai had just said such a disrespectful remark. Actually they could but the boy had no sense of self-preservation. Tsunade stood immediately and you could see that she was fuming. Both teams, other than Sai, had started to back to the walls.

Suddenly, without warning, Tsunade leapt over the desk and charged at Sai who was too afraid to even move at this point. Upon reaching him, Tsunade had him by the throat and had thrown him through the door to her office only to jump through and pounce on him once more. She was choking the life out him once more with the intent to kill laden in her eyes.

"Don't. Ever. Call. Me. OLD!" Tsunade practically screeched at the pale boy.

"I said 'bold' lady not 'old' lady!" Sai managed to choke out.

Lady Tsunade perked up instantly and hopped up with a kind smile on her face as if she had not just tried to kill the child in front of her only moments ago.

"Well okay then. Aren't you just a sweet boy." She said a little too sweetly.

Naruto and Kiba looked at each other with a knowing glance. They both knew that Sai had said 'bold' only to save his life. Usually he didn't care if he got hurt by Sakura's hands but Tsunade had the brute strength that even he had to take into account.

The two boys then realized that they were angry, bitter rivals and that they hated one another and quickly turned away. Both were glaring at the floor wondering why they had to work with each other.

"Now to continue." The old powerful tone of voice she normally uses returned without any difficulty. "I will be splitting the two teams up into three teams of two. As you well know, we haven't had a very good relationship with the Village Hidden in the Mist. They are planning something big and we need to find out what that is. One team will deliver a message to the Mizukage. The message will be a simple call for peace between our nations.

"One of the remaining two teams will keep watch of the large bridge to see if there are shipments of suspicious content.

"And finally the last team will keep watch over the city gates. They will provide any outside information and assist the team inside as needed using short frequency radios.

"UNDERSTAND!"

"Yes Ma'am!" They all say in unison for fear of the Hokage's wrath.

"Hinata and Sakura! You are team one and message carriers.

"Shino and Sai. You are team two and will be watching the gate."

"No way Granny Tsunade!" Naruto started to complain.

"What is it now Naruto?"

"You can't put me with Kiba!"

"And why can I not do that?" Tsunade was losing her patients with the blond.

"I don't like Kiba. He smells like a dog and always acts superficial!"

"You don't even know what 'superficial' means." Kiba and Tsunade said together.

Naruto grumbled. 'I still don't want to be paired with _him_.'

"Why did you even choose Kiba and me to a team anyway?" Naruto complained.

"Because Kiba has a highly developed sense of smell so he and you could keep watch outside. And you have similar fighting styles. AND you both have good instincts. I could go on and on, but the jist is that you both fit the bill. Got It!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and grumbled. "Fine. I'll do it Granny Tsunade."

Naruto hated that he was practically forced to team-up with Kiba.

Kiba was thinking to himself about how much he loathed Naruto and hated the idea of being stuck working with him for the next couple of days. On the account that Lady Tsunade has such a short temper at the moments, he decided that it would not be wise to voice his opinions at the current moment. He would not look forward to the tempest that would be released from the woman had he not stay silent. Even though he was not going to put a voice to any of his opinions, he would not keep himself from the pleasure of glaring at the blond he so desperately hated.

Naruto had his head down sulking. 'How could Granny Tsunade be so mean? I mean, I know she has a point and everything but I still hate being forced to team-up with Kiba.'

"Alright! Now that everything is settled, you all may go home and pack. You are to leave for your mission in the morning. That is all you are dismissed."

"Affirmative!" They all said.

"Come on Hinata! We need to practice for our mission." Sakura chided at the other girl.

"Oh. Okay." Came Hinata's quiet reply.

"What fighting style do you use?"

"Um. The gentle fist."

Sakura and Hinata's conversation became less and less audible as they trotted down the wide, curved hallway. Shino and Sai had already left to pack. Both had slipped out unnoticed when they were dismissed.

"Well, I'm heading off," he said with a nod to Tsunade. He completely ignored Naruto and didn't even spare him a backwards glance. The only two left in the room at the current time were Naruto and Tsunade.

"Naruto." Tsunade's voice was soft. She didn't say his name with any conviction. She spoke with more of a motherly tone.

"Huh? What's up Granny Tsunade?" He had yet to pull out of his gloomy state and looked toward the ground in an almost ashamed manor.

"I know you aren't happy about the arrangement but bear with me. This is an important mission and we need you to have your head in the game." At this the boy's head rose but he had as of yet to come out of his stupor.

He let out an exasperated sigh. His head hung low again as he finally gave in. Through the curtain of hair covering his eyes she heard, "Okay, Nee-chan."

This word choice of his confused her. She asked, "Why did you call me 'nee-chan' Naruto?"

He looked up with large, cerulean, azure eyes and stated plainly, "You lost your younger brother and you treat me like a big sister. That is why I called you nee-chan."

Her eyes flashed with realization and she had an unnatural need to hug him. She walked around the desk and took the young child into a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Naruto." That was all she could say because she really felt like she needed to protect this boy. He was a strong spirit and needed to grow. That is the main reason she put him on the team with Kiba. She felt he could protect Naruto and that could be a reason for them to settle their differences and become friends. Naruto needed this and she wanted him to have more than just a few friends he could rely on.

After the embrace was over, she sent the young blond out to do the packing she was certain he would not do 'til the last minute unless she made him.

Naruto hated Kiba with a passion and knew the danger approaching. But as he thought more to himself, he decided to at least try and get along with the scruffy brunette.


	3. Chapter 3: A Day of Rest Maybe

**A Day of Rest… Maybe**

The next day was mainly a day of rest. There were a few cumulus clouds drifting through the incandescent sky. The ultramarine, turquoise sky was deep in it's brilliance. Deciding to take a walk, Naruto left his dwelling for a stroll around town. His blond hair was tussled while the wind seemed to gently play with it. There was a crisp breeze that let anyone who felt it know that today would be an amazing day.

The sun gingerly warmed the bronze skin of the blond. Currently running down a dirt-paved passage, Naruto saw a familiar figure resting atop a house's roof.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Naruto called to the brunet with the pony-tale.

"Hey, Naruto!" the lazy chuunin retorted.

"Mind if I cloud-watch with you?"

"Sure. Come on up. I needed some company anyway. Listening to my mom bitch and complain over every little thing is such a drag. She even tried to go on another mission. I just wanted to rest after my last mission and play a nice game of Shogi."

"Yeah. But at least you have some way to let off steam. Actually, I don't think you have much you need to let out."

"Hey! Don't just assume the kid who doesn't do much doesn't have any steam to let off."

Naruto grinned and held up his hands in mock-surrender. In his quick movements, he started sliding down the side of the roof and almost falling. He grabbed the gutter and hung there for a second or two. His grip on the cold aluminum waned and caused him to fall. His landing wasn't as hard as he would have expected and he didn't get a scratch on him.

"Oi, Naruto! Are you alright down there?" Shikamaru's voice came from above Naruto.

"Yeah. I'm fine Shikamaru. Thanks."

Naruto suddenly felt movement below him and realized that his fall was a light one because he fell on someone. He immediately jumped off of the crushed body and kept repeating, 'Gomen Nacai!' to the person. The person that had been landed on rose to their feet with slight confusion as to what had just happened. He then noticed a pair of cerulean, azure eyes. Anger now flooded his countenance, flames boiling through his retinas.

"Naruto! What the Fuck are you doing dropping in on me from up there?"

Kiba was furious. A tick had worked its way in his jaw. The jugular vein threatening to completely separate from his neck as it pumped its way outward.

"I said I was sorry Kiba! I apologized and everything. You don't have to be such an ass you know!"

Seeing all of this, Shikamaru decided to intervene. 'They need to stop fighting like senseless children if they even have a hope of working together on the mission. If I don't stop this now in the beginning, things could get really bad. But oh man this is such a drag.'

The arguing continued and along with the continuation was the escalation. The two kept on and on, not even taking notice the small line of darkness that was quickly approaching both. The fight was about to turn into a physical wrestling free-for-all when Kiba attempted the first punch. His fist was just a centimeter away from Naruto's face when the fist froze.

"What's wrong? Can't hit me you flee-bitten mutt?" Naruto taunted.

"That's not it at all you feministic pussy! I can't move!" Kiba, although confused, still had enough of his mind to antagonize Naruto more. (Not that he didn't deserve it)

Naruto laughed but then realized that he was restrained to his place as well. Both struggled in attempt to force the release of the jutsu but there was no breaking this jutsu.

Rather than looking up from where he was, Naruto thought it better just to shout, "Why the Hell would you do this?"

He knew the answer of coursed but still demanded Shikamaru give him an answer. Being as Shikamaru was the most advanced in rank he simply replied, "You need to calm down and get along. Remember, you have to work together on a very important mission. Oh Kami-sama! Reprimanding the two of you is such a drag!"

Although neither of the boys could move, they could still glare at each other. They weren't even paying attention to anything that Shikamaru had just finished saying.

"Are you two idiots even listening down there?" Shikamaru practically yelled. (Yes yelled. I know. It's unbelievable.)

When he got no reply from the quarreling duo, he was a little miffed. 'Why don't they ever learn?' He decided to have a little fun with the two and teach them a lesson they aren't soon to forget. Since they were facing each other, he moved so that they were grabbing each other's shoulders.

"Oi, Shikamaru! What are you doing up there?" Naruto asked.

They were stuck in his shadow possession jutsu. He stood up straight and so did they. While still holding on to each other's shoulders, he had them lean back a little and then their bodies launched at on another. They head-butted each other and now were passed out in the street. 'That ought to them at least something.' Shikamaru thought.

Shikamaru left the area for the Inuzuka compound. Arriving at the main entrance, he knocked and asked if he could speak with Tsume, Kiba's mom. He relayed the story to her and asked if she would come get her son. She agreed and they came back to the alley where the boys were laying lifeless.

Tsume picked up her son and was on her way back to the compound. That left Shikamaru to deal with the blond lunatic. Naruto was unconscious, but you could tell he was in pain. He was hurting from his obvious head wound. Shikamaru had carefully lifted the body and started off towards Naruto's home.

Arriving at the house was simple enough. It was getting in that was the problem. The front door was locked. Shikamaru, thinking about where a blond would hide a key checked under the rug. Nothing was there. He thought some more. He shifted the blond from his arms to over his shoulder so that he could reach up higher. The key, as he had suspected, was on top of the frame of the door.

Shikamaru unlocked the door and stepped inside the small shack. He walked through Naruto's half-kitchen half-living room. He was quite surprised at the state of the room. The kitchen only had but a few cabinets, a small sink, and a tiny refrigerator. There was a small heat plate on one of the counters for boiling water. The living room, or more precisely the larger half of the room that was still quite small, cad a little couch that was broken down and a little end table in front of it. On the end table was a medium sized T.V.

Everything was designed to accommodate one person, or if Shikamaru had anything to say, half a person. He was living very poorly and he just had too much pride to tell anyone. Shikamaru frowned. He moved towards the only other door in the back of the room. There was a little full size bed in the room with a miniscule night stand and lamp. A few books were on it and it looked as if it were about to fall over.

He laid Naruto very carefully on the bed. He stepped into the cramped bathroom to get a wash cloth and wet it. The bathroom was clean, just sooooo small. He brought the wet cloth to Naruto and laid it across his forehead.

"I will see you soon Naruto. I just hope you'll forgive me and one day thank me for what I have just done." And with those final words, he slipped through the house and left, not forgetting to lock up and replace the key.


	4. Chapter 4: To Begin, Or Not To Begin

**To Begin, Or Not To Begin**

Naruto woke to an enormous pain in his head. A single beam of light had floated down and was resting atop his head. Even though the worn-out blond was awake, he refused to open his eyes. Instead, he just let the slight crack of light warm what little of skin that it came into contact with.

His headache lessened a miniscule amount and he came to the decision to risk his precious retinas. The slits of his eyes slowly cracked open. At the invasion of light to his necessary eyes, he let out a cry of pain as the wave of it swept through his head.

He fumbled through the room, or more correctly around the top of his bed, searching for the curtains to close. His hand found what he thought was the curtain and pulled. He screamed and jumped away from the bright for of death for his eyesight. His feet got caught in the sheets as they wrapped around him like coiling snakes. His jump earned him a flop on the floor. He came to the realization that the pain was from the incredible force of light that was permeating its way through his window. He had accidentally pulled the draw-strings and spread the curtains out to reveal the full breadth of the window.

He scrambled into a corner; the blankets were in a disheveled mess around him. He slowly peaked his eyes open, fearing the incandescent beams for the window. He got comfortable with the dimness of light in the corner enough to stand up and pull the curtains shut. (From the wall of course. He wasn't willing to let his retinas burn and relay messages of pain to his brain.)

After the dreadful light was sealed away from his room, he ruffled his hair and stretched. He continued on to his bathroom to take his morning shower. He stepped into the bathroom, turned the water on, and waited for it to heat up. In his waiting, he shed the only article of clothing he had been wearing, his boxers. He looked in the mirror and took notice to the gash that now rested just above his brow.

Had he really been hit that hard in the head? All the signs pointed to yes. He was going to run Shikamaru's ass severely into the ground for it. Actually the gash wasn't as bad as he had first imagined. The bruise was already starting to yellow with signs of healing. He peered at the froggy-style boxers that were in a lump on the floor. Steam was starting to flow over the curtain and he realized his time for self-admiration was over.

He stepped into the flow of water and let out a long, soothing 'Mmmmmmm'. The water felt amazing as it slid through any pain that his body may have been feeling. He was in a soft and comforted state. He let out a soft sigh as he began mechanically washing every part of his body. As he grazed certain muscles he felt the ache that was disguised by the flooding water.

The events of last night came back to his memory in a flood. 'Damn that Kiba!' His muscles were sore because of the Shadow Possession Jutsu that Shikamaru had used. This made his muscles tense and tighten in order to follow the user of the jutsu exactly.

'I can't believe Shikamaru would do that to me!' He pouted a little but finished his shower and dried without much more thought. He pulled on his clothes and thought about the mission ensuing today.

They were supposed to leave later that night to travel by night and sleep in the woods.

**~After Departure~**

What actually ended up happening is that they ran all night and day journeying toward the Village Hidden in the Mist. The trip to the village was mainly uneventful to say the least. No one spoke; they just speed on as if they could not wait to get home. They never showed any signs of tiring.

Naruto just seethed thinking about how unfair Granny Tsunade was being to him. There was a unanimous decision to stop and make camp on the second night they were out. The obviously wouldn't have stopped the first because that is when they left.

No one talked. They were all weighed down by the burden of the mission's importance. Unknown to Naruto, the two girls and the other boy team had decided to share tents. Each team had their own tent. Naruto started looking through his pack. After a short amount of time and a large amount of riffling through his pack he began to freak out.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura asked him, a little worried.

"My tent." He complained.

"What about it?"

"I forgot it!"

"What? Sakura asked. It took her a little bit of time to process what the blond had said. "Well, you can't bunk with us. Hinata and I are sharing a tent. The same thing with Shino and Sai."

Naruto heard the unspoken meaning and looked down in defeat and in pure melancholy.

"Okay," was all he said almost inaudibly. The uncomfortable silence was fleeting as the teams eventually went into their tents to turn in for the night. Kiba grumbled and climbed into his three person sized tent. Naruto always too prideful to ask for anyone's aid, just pulled out his sleeping bag and slept on the ground. He kept tossing and turning. A shiver had worked its way up his spine. Naruto mentally shoved the cold away and forced sleep to overcome him.

**~ 2:37 A.M. Kiba's Point Of View ~**

Kiba, being the light sleeper he was, woke to a slight tapping noise. He looked around, rubbing his hands on his eyes. He had good night vision and couldn't find the source of the tapping noise. Akamaru was curled next to him. The dog slightly laid on his sleeping bag. He listened more intently. Focusing the chakra in his ears, he found the sound was outside and not far away.

He pulled himself out of his sleeping bag, careful not to wake Akamaru and stepped outside.

He looked around but didn't see anything making the noise. He heard a groan and moved towards the sound. Peaking around a small bush he saw Naruto asleep. The blond was shivering and his nose was a light shade of blue. The chattering was his teeth. Although he was cold he seemed to be in a cold sweat, Kiba noticed how peaceful Naruto looked even while he was sleeping.

"Come on, Naruto." Kiba whispered.

Naruto just mumbled something incoherent but didn't wake up. Kiba lifted Naruto, still asleep in his sleeping bag, and carried him to his tent. Naruto felt the heat from Kiba's body and subconsciously snuggled into Kiba's chest. Kiba, not wanting to stir the resting blond, didn't say anything. The boy looked so calm in his sleep. He reminded Kiba of a small animal in quiet slumber. He laid the boy in his tent and moved to the other side. He laid back in his sleeping bag and attempted to sleep.

He had so much on his mind. He hated the blond. The blond was stupid , made rash decisions all the time, and was full of his pride. The boy was so damned annoying! Yet, the unconventional ways of the boy caused many to not help but like him. Kiba would never admit it to other people, but he admired the boy's free spirit. He wanted that type of attitude.

In truth, he hated dealing with all of the people fawning over him. They never seemed to want to leave him alone. He couldn't change anything if he wanted to because the opportunity never arose. He had to settle with hating the boy because Naruto possessed something Kiba never had the opportunity to. At this last thought. He succumbed himself to the drowsiness that was threatening to fall over him.


	5. Chapter 5: When We Are Asleep

**When We Are Asleep**

Chapter 5

Kiba awoke to a weight bearing down on his chest. His chest was covered with a mop of blond curls and jagged points. 'What was that supposed to be?' he thought. His mind was still a jumbled from sleep so he couldn't process the situation that he was encroached in at the current time. Then a wave of realization hit him as the events of last night flooded his brain. So the unidentified blond hair ball was Naruto. He looked even more like a child in is slumbered state and his head on Kiba's chest than before. His hands were curled up near his head as he gently snuggled into the warmth of Kiba's body. Naruto had no idea that his source of comfort and warmth was from Kiba. His Body was curled in a half-fetal position alongside Kiba's body.

"Naruto, Wake Up!" Kiba said a little louder than what was permissible. The blond didn't freak out at the sound as was expected of him from Kiba. Instead, he slowly cracked his eyes open.

**Naruto P.O.V.**

Naruto was startled by the noise, but being accustomed to being surprised when he was younger caused him to just open his eyes slowly. At first, all he noticed was the heat coming from the side of his face. He opened his eyes only to discover that he couldn't make anything out but shapes and shadows. As his vision cleared, he made out the two pools of flowing brown and the shaggy brunet hair that was tussled above them. The flowing streams of crimson and brown held the look of bewilderment and slight aggravation. The eyes never strayed from their target yet never lost the intensity that made them seem invitingly menacing. 'The perfect hunting eyes' Naruto mused.

"What the hell are you doing?" The question was thrown to the space between the two. Naruto barely noticed the question. He was still captivated by the eyes that held his. It was at this moment that he noticed the anger in the eyes. How had he missed that? How could he have overlooked that simple factor in evaluating the irises of he that he is repulsed by?

At the moment Naruto noticed the eyes he also noticed simultaneously the position in which the two found themselves. His hands were on Kiba's chest and his body was aligned with Kiba's. He quickly jumped off of the dog-nin. Naruto's eyes were bulging with horror and something else. The slight tinge of incredulity flawed his otherwise horrified expression.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto inquired.

"What do you mean? You're in my tent," Kiba retorted.

Naruto looked as if he had just realized that his surrounding weren't that of the forest, but one of modern tent material. In fact, he had just noticed the environment that he was contained in. 'How the Hell did I get in _here_? Was _I_ snuggled up to Kiba's chest?' was all he could think.

"How did I get here?" Naruto pondered over the question. No, he hadn't remembered asking the dog-boy whether he could stay with him. The last thing he remembered was that it was cold and hard to let the drowsiness and fatigue wash over him late last night.

"I brought you here," Kiba stated. If not only for his nonchalance and indifference, Naruto would have believed him. Kiba showing a kinder side to him baffled the blond to no end.

"Why? You don't even like me. We aren't even friends. So, why in the Hell am I in here?"

"I brought you here for two reasons and two reasons only. First, you were chattering from the cold and the annoying noise kept me from sleeping. Second, the mission is very crucial to the peace held with the fire nation and the water nation. If you're sick, it could jeopardize the entire mission. So, I brought you in here. Oh and by the way, you were supposed to be sleeping over there." Kiba pointed to an area away from him near the edge of the tent.

Naruto reddened a bit then. He tends to move a lot in his sleep. "Then why didn't you just move me further away to make the noise less imposing on your sleep?" Naruto was just cajoling him for information by now.

"Because it was freezing and we couldn't exactly stay concealed with you sneezing from a cold."

"Oh. Well arigato." Naruto had a feeling of great uncomfortability at the current time. The awkward silence fell over them as if a giant sheet of glass was holding them down for examination.

Not even looking at Kiba, Naruto left the tent and grabbed his pack. He then headed off into the woods to change.

Kiba, still in the tent, had a look of pure confusion gracing his countenance. I wasn't until Akamaru started licking at his hands that he was drawn out of his trance to get dressed. He pulled on his clothes and set a bowl of food out for Akamaru.

Kiba stepped outside to find the others already beginning to pack up.

"What did you do?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing. Why?" Kiba queried.

"Well, Naruto left for the forest to change but he had the strangest look on his face."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know. His expression held confusion but it also hinted at something else. I just can't describe it."

"Which way did he go?"

"He headed in that direction." She pointed to an area of the woods not far from where they were standing.

"Thanks." And then Kiba took off in the direction of Naruto.

**~Naruto's P.O.V.~**

He left the tent in a hurry and went to get his clothes. Sakura was trying to talk to him he needed time alone to think. He ran off towards the woods to change. When he thought he was far enough away, he began to disrobe. He had changed his boxers and was pulling up his pants when he heard rustling near by.

"Naruto, where are you?" came Kiba's voice from the green veiled distance.

"Go away, Kiba!" He wasn't mad, just embarrassed at the off-chance that Kiba saw him half-naked.

**~Normal P.O.V.~**

Kiba trudged toward Naruto's voice. As he rounded a tree, he came face-to-face with the dressing blond. Everything froze as Kiba took in the scene before him. Naruto had his pants half-pulled up revealing blue and green froggy boxers. His toned upper torso was exposed showing golden skin. Naruto snapped out of his daze and rushed to redress.

"What do you want, Dog-Breath?" Kiba did not fail to see the pink tint to his cheeks. Naruto also noticed that it was a little difficult to see that red tattoos on Kiba's cheeks through the blush spreading across his features.

**~Kiba's P.O.V.~**

Kiba reached the corner of a small clearing to come across Naruto. He saw the state Naruto was in and blushed profusely. The topic of conflict himself was released from his phase and rushed to pull on every article of clothing on his body just to keep it from being seen by his rival. He would not open his body to Kiba as a subject of ridicule and wanted to keep the insults down to a minimum.

"What do you want, Dog-Breath?"

What did Kiba want? What had he went to find Naruto to say? He motioned as if he were to say something but nothing exited his mouth. "Sorry," was all that was uttered from his mouth. He turned and began to stride away. "And don't expect me to be so nice next time. I'm sorry that I even helped you out."

"Wait, Kiba!" Naruto called.

The figure of the dog-nin stopped for a moment. The figure seemed to think better of his decision and continued toward the camp.

"Damn! Why doesn't he ever listen to anything I say?" Naruto commented more for his own benefit than for anyone else.

He finished pulling on his clothes and ran through the woods after his teammate.


	6. 6Feelings Of Trust, Or Trust Of Feelings

**Feelings Of Trust, Or Trust Of Feelings?**

Kiba broke through the cover of the woods and worked by quickly busying himself with packing up his belongings. He worked diligently trying to ignore the events that have just proceeded. He had his mind almost completely blank before he noticed a presence behind him.

"Rather… fastidious… aren't you?" Sakura was being a little sarcastic. "What happened?" Now began the demands for information.

"Nothing!" Kiba practically barked. Why was it that he could not figure out what was wrong with himself. The end result of the battle of reason taking place in his head finally came out to a definite conclusion: Naruto is and always will be the stupid one who can't figure things out for himself. But was it his kindness that led him to bring the blond to warmth. No. It most certainly is not! He brought the blond to his tent for the sole purpose of making sure the mission did not fail.

The conclusion made enough sense to him, but why was he angry? He couldn't think of an entire thing that would have triggered this emotion inside of him. He thought about the anger for a short time. All his life he has been subject to short bursts of anger and a very small temper. Why should this time be any different? His mind was made up he was just angry because he was. End of story.

Just then, Naruto burst through the tree-line. He looked around noticing that the others were mostly packed up. He walked over to where Kiba was, grabbed his personal items (sleeping bag) and walked towards his own pack, not sparing Sakura or Kiba a glance or word. His pack was mostly put together already and mine and everyone else's was as well. He walked over to us when he was done and looked at Sakura. She then turned and called the other to a circle a little ways away from where we were standing.

"Thank you" It was almost inaudible.

"What?" I asked, all anger that had flooded my veins had dissipated by then.

"I said thank you for letting me stay in your tent," Naruto replied curtly.

Although Kiba disliked the ninja in front of him, the last comment had a strange effect on him. He felt sort of frozen with incredulity. 'Had Naruto actually thanked him?'

"De rien," Kiba quickly shrugged it off.

"Huh?"

"I'm learning French. It means 'It's nothing'."

The air of tension that had been building now dissipated to a more comfortable atmosphere. The rest of the team, who had been silently ignoring them, now were completely packed and ready to set off at any time. The only things out were their breakfast materials.

They gathered in Sakura's circle and discussed the mission plan of attack.

"So, Kiba and Naruto will go on ahead and get into position around or near the bridge. Then Sai and Shino will go and find a place for observation of the gate. And finally, Hinata and I will go and deliver the message. Got It!" Sakura had moved into her drill-sergeant mode and began barking out orders o anyone nearby. Anyone who had the misfortune of disagreeing with her had to face all the levels of hell in a single blow.

"Hai!" both of the other groups and Hinata said.

"Naruto! Kiba! Move Out!"

"Fine. Whatever Sakura!" Naruto slouched.

Sakura seemed to grow by ten feet as she loomed over Naruto. Blood-lust clearly shown on her face. "Do we have a problem Naruto?" Her voice was menacing. This sudden change in physical attributes struck fear into Naruto.

He cowered and wheezed out a "No".

"Then get your sorry ass on the mission!" She shrieked.

Naruto could not have left fast enough. He grabbed Kiba by the wrist and grabbed his bag and ran faster than anyone (other than Sakura) thought was possible coming from a runt his size.


	7. Chapter 7: The Fall

A/N: I am soooo excited to bring you the next chapter in my story. To tell you guys the truth, I have the chapters written up to eleven but they still need to be typed. My computer died and I haven't had access in forever. Now, I have a new MacBook Pro and it works like a dream to make projects and typing. I love it and you guys so now I can probably add to the story. Enjoy the read.

"Let me go, Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed.

Naruto wasn't even thinking about Kiba as he ran and only realized that he still grasped Kiba's wrist and briskly released it while growing pale.

"Gomen," he barely choked out.

Kiba just grunted while rubbing his wrist. Naruto has a vice-like grip. I mean **Damn!** He thought. Kiba had yet to realize the foul countenance he was portraying.

This made Naruto pale even more. Naruto was afraid that Kiba might throw him back to Sakura.

"Let's get a move on! Oh, and Naruto," Kiba queried.

"What is it, Kiba?"

"Why were you so scared of Sakura?"

The blond, who had now regained his color, had lost it once more as he blanched. His state was overrun when he replied, "That's none of your business! Dog-breath!"

"Fine! Whatever. I'm not the one whipped by a bitch!" Kiba retorted.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Kiba?" Naruto's blood was beginning to boil.

"Just what I said! You're the bitch of the second biggest bitch in Konoha."

"Yeah? Well, you're the bitch of your mother and older sister!"

"Am NOT you fucking pussy! I got smart and moved out!"

"Just shut the Hell up, Kiba!"

By this time, they were both glaring angrily at the ground as if it were the Earth's fault gravity held them to the same patch of road.

They continued down the path and though they resented each other, both were grateful to have another presence to follow them in the long walk to the Village Hidden in the Mist.

~~Around 4 P.M.~~

The pair of travelers had finally arrived at their given destination and both were cooled off.

Both of the boys used their emense chakra control to walk across the water to a good spot. Again using their chakra, they walked up the bridge supports and set up their observation area on a cross-beam.

The area was small, but cool and dry. It had enough surface area for both of them to lay low and report their findings.

"Bridge Team: In position and standing by," Kiba said in a hushed whisper through the short-range mic.

"Gate Team: Beginning Arrival. Hey guys. I know that you will be here for a little while so hang tight. Put your mics on mute so the guards can't hear you but I will leave mine on so you can listen in. Arrival soon. Switch to silence."

Kiba and Naruto switched theirs to outgoing mute. They laid on the beam in silence. Niether spoke nor wanted to break the silence.

Naruto, being rather itchy and wanting to move around, kept fidgeting.

"Keep still," Kiba chastized.

"I can't help it. I got to move."

"Just close your eyes. Stay still and concentrate your chakra in your ears. Relax your muscles." Kiba suggested.

It took some time to get Naruto in this state. He took a few deep breaths to calm his breathing. His eyes drifted closed. His mind open. His chakra pooling and flowing.

With his eyes closed, his senses became amplified. He could feel his pulse. He could hear Kiba's heartbeat. The flow of water echoing through his mind. The sound of emanating water soothed him more than he even thought possible.

In his relaxed state, he began to lose consciousness. His mind slowed and he felt as if he were weightless.

~~In the Dream (Naruto P.O.V.)~~

I opened my eyes but saw nothing but fog, a shifting mist of effervescent features. There was nothing in the distance. There is only me. The fog was not dainty, but flowing. The translucent swirls were just beyond my reach.

There was no wind, as if the air were suspended where it was. But, the tendrils of mist continued to wind and intertwine around me.

The tempo of revolutions increased and they seemed to press in towards me. The ghostly fingers wrapped me in its grip. By now, the clutches I was in were impossible to elude. The mist became thick, as water, and threatened to drown me. My body was consumed by the flow of the liquid mist.

The mist invaded my lungs and breathing was impossible. I struggled to no avail.

~~Out of Dream (Kiba's P.O.V.)~~

Kiba was incredibly grateful for the silence. Naruto had stayed quiet and calm. He noticed that Naruto's eyelids were shifting around as if he were peering around. It was at this moment that he heard a slight snore emit from the blond's mouth.

'Ugh! How can he sleep now?' was all he could think because the blond had begun to groan. He sounded as if he were sore from training or something. All of a sudden, the blond started to thrash around and act like he was having trouble breathing.

I tried to restrain him but that only made him struggle more. His struggling only got us closer to the edge of the narrow platform that we were perched upon.

"Naruto! Stop or we're gonna fall!" My pleas did nothing to phase him. As we neared the edge of the beam we were laying on, I braced myself. I tried everything to get him to wake up. Nothing was working! Just a few more inches and we would be forced over the edge. Naruto gave one final heave and we went over.

~~Real World (Naruto's P.O.V.)~~

I was awoken by a sense of weightlessness. Kiba holding onto me as we were sent towards the water. I had slipped out of his arms only to be stopped in mid-air. I just hung there for a moment. Disoriented.

"Are you just going to hang there, or are you going to help to get back up?" Kiba's irritated voice asked.

It was now that I looked down, or really up since I am up-side sown, and noticed Kiba had a hold on one of my ankles while using his chakra to anchor his feet to the underside of the beam.

"Oh. Right! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

My shadow clones appeared atop the beam and helped Kiba and me up. When I released the jutsu after we were firmly on the beam, I thought of something.

"Hey, Kiba?"

"Yeah, what?" He didn't seem to be in a good mood. His face was disgruntled and he seemed to be in deep thought.

"I was wondering, when I woke up, why were you holding onto me?" My face reddened just a bit.

"If I hadn't, your dumb ass would have been in the river a long time ago and gave away our position!" He was very upset at the idea of having to take care of me, or so I think. "What the Hell were you dreaming about anyway!"

'No wonder I was moving out here, my dream caused that,' I thought.

"Oh, that. It was weird. I was dying somehow," I tried to force myself to remember my dream. The memory was so clouded though. All I could remember was that I was dying. Nothing more.

"You seemed to be choking out here and you fought against something. When I tried to hold you down, it got worse. You're really irresponsible you know!"

"And what's that supposed to mean, you canine freak!"

"It means you can't even stay awake on a simple observatory mission you fucked up prick!"

"Well, you should have just let me fall if I'm such a hindrance!"

"Damn Right! I should've!"

Both looked away from each other at that moment. Naruto was fuming. 'What a pig-headed jerk!' It took a while, but they calmed down.

"Thanks." Naruto was almost too proud to say it.

~~Kiba's P.O.V.~~

"Thanks." Was Kiba imagining things? The blond had just showed him gratitude.

Kiba said nothing in response to the blond. He knew it was hard for Naruto to put his pride aside. So, he didn't want to embarrass the blond with a response but instead, leave him with a feeling of good-will.

~~Normal P.O.V.~~

Neither of the boys realized just how being forced together could affect the way they think of each other. If they continue to work out the problems both face with each other, an amazing bond could be forged between them. The only problem thus far is that to create such a friendship, there needs to be two willing participants. Will their rivalry outweigh any chance of a friendship? They will have to find out.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: College is such a problem. I haven't gotten to take care of the people who really matter to me now. (You guys) Gomen nacai! I'm so sorry for the wait. Moving into college was a big leap. My amazing computer is here to assist me in any way it can so we are back on track. Hope you like this chapter. ^^

,_,

[0,0]

/) )

-"-"-

Chapter 8

The mission went well for the two. The walk back had made for some interesting conversation. Kiba had always assumed he hated Naruto because he was such a fucking prick. But, as it turns out, he didn't really care for anybody. He was on his own now and no one held his interest for friendship. He had friends, but they were not true friends. He didn't have the true friends that he could tell anything to so he doesn't tell much about himself to anyone.

He just thought that if he recognized their presence, it was simply because his attention had merely just extended to include them and not anything more. Now this was a drastic contrast to Naruto. He craved attention from others and he would come across as boisterous and loud because of it. If Naruto was in the vicinity, you would know it.

Maybe because of these differences they were drawn together. Kiba thought he was better than everyone else and Naruto wanted to prove himself to be as strong, if not stronger, than everyone else. If you would think about it, this would be the catalyst for a perfect rivalry.

On the day they returned, nothing really happened. They spoke very little to each other and turned their reports in to Tsunade. They went their separate ways and went home. Naruto went back to his small dusty home and Kiba did the same.

Naruto creaked open the door to his apartment. He noticed the rusted hinges were crying with restraint for their motion. He decided he didn't care and proceeded to enter his housing unit. He let out a sigh that released all the tension he was carrying. He did not understand what was happening to him. Lately, he had been feeling so tired and worn down. He collapsed on the little couch he had in his possession. He needed rest. He knew that. So he watched to dust settle and drift through the small beam of light that was trickling its way through his curtains.

The little specks were mesmerizing. He could not keep his eyes open anymore. It was late enough for him to sleep, only about seven at night. He dozed off and didn't even care that he wasn't in his bed and still in his clothes.

Kiba went to his apartment in a similar fashion. He opened the door that squeaked a little and made his way to the couch. His living room was small. But it contained a full size couch and a TV. He sat down, but could not get comfortable. His body was restless. He grunted and stood up. He might as well get something to each. So, he walked to his kitchen, which was not too far from the living room, and looked through his cabinets.

Finding nothing fast only made him more frustrated. So he decided to whip out the skillet and heat up some oil. His stomach ad a few ideas of what to serve but his mind knew exactly what he wanted. While the oil was heating up, Kiba walked over to the freezer and took out a large steak. He proceeded to cut the frozen steak into strips of meat. Carefully, the meat was placed in the hot oil to cook for a short time. This gave him some time to chop some onions and green pepper s into strips as well. He added them all together in the pan and added some spices.

He was in heaven with all the smells that were emanating from the pan. But, his job wasn't done yet. He went and got some flour tortillas and heated them in the microwave. He was gonna enjoy this meal. The meat and vegetables were done so he picked up the pan and set it on a hot pad on the table. Grabbing a plate and the tortillas, he exhumed to enjoy his steak fajitas.

If he could choose one single meal that he enjoyed more than any other, it would be this one. He finished enjoying his meal and put the leftovers in the fridge. He was stuffed. It was then that he noticed that Akamaru hadn't made a sound all night. He looked around and couldn't find the pup anywhere. He stood and went to the bedroom and turned on the light. There laid on his bed, Akamaru. He laid in his favorite spot, right on top of Kiba's pillow.

Kiba crept over to the bed and poked his puppy on the head. He must have been tired from the mission as well. The dog yawned and opened his eyes. His gaze meet his masters and he saw the gentleness of a kind owner. Kiba was proud of his Akamaru and Akamaru knew it. He was happy to see his master but still a little tired.

"Could you move over a little bit buddy?" Kiba chided softly.

As if Akamaru knew before Kiba even asked, he walked off of the pillow and laid next to it. Kiba didn't mind that Akamaru slept on the bed. It was in the middle of the night when he minded. Akamaru would try to reclaim his spot and lay right on top of Kiba's head. Eventually, Kiba would suffocate from the pressure and not being able to breath.

He wasn't happy, but then again, would you be if you had an animal that tried to kill you at night by suffocation. Kiba laid down and pulled the comforter to him and Akamaru. He then realized that he was still in his clothes and grumbled.

Getting up to change into his night clothes was such a pain when you were really tired and already really comfortable. Wrestling with his clothes for about five minutes made him so irritable that he decided to just screw it and ripped his shirt off and continued to take off his pants. His final thoughts were to think 'Fuck Clothes'. He stripped off his boxers and climbed into bed. He didn't care if he slept naked. It was his apartment after all.

It was warm tonight because it was still summer. The heat of the night made it uncomfortable for Kiba to sleep. e kept waking up sweating and not being able to go back to sleep calmly. Giving up, he lay there on top of his covers and just looking up at the ceiling. He wanted to formulate a plan about what to do the following day but never really had the patience and was so god damn tired.

Kiba was so frustrated. He stood up and walked to the bathroom. Once there, he plugged up his bathtub and turned on the cold water flow. He needed this. It was so simple. He stuck his hand under the flowing tap. It felt so cold. He enjoyed the feeling. The tub was filling up quickly, so he shut the water off and decided to get in.

Gingerly, he placed on foot in the water. It was freezing! He then got the other foot in. As gently as he could, he lowered himself in slowly. Once the water hit his ass, the first thought going through his mind was immediately regretting this decision. But, he was already mostly in so he was not gonna back out now.

That thought kept him going until the ice-water came in contact with is ball-sack. He tried to jump up and out of there because it was so cold, but because he had his hand under the faucet before he got in, his hand was wet. He slipped and fell in all the way. The water around him consumed him into the tub itself.

He was freaking out but didn't leave the tub. His breathing hitched. It was so cold! He concentrated on his breathing and eventually it evened out. His body was cooling down and it felt good. His fingers were starting to go numb. It didn't matter to him. He was comfortable now.

His eyes started drooping a little and his breath decreased. Not long after, soft snoring could be heard from the bathroom. He was asleep.

His dream was a little different than he would have expected, but who could control their own dreams? His dream was not really a dream, but more a memory. It was not quite clear what was going on. He was little again and standing in a pitch dark room. This room had no boundaries or endings and he could not see anything or any defined edges to the room.

In the distance, he could make out his mothers voice arguing. Fine! Go wherever the Hell you want! Just don't expect me to be so patient with you. If you go, just know that you are never welcome to come back again! This is Final!

He knew those words. Those were the same words his mother used on him. But, they were not directed at him, they were directed at his father. He didn't really remember what his father looked like, but he could never forget the fleeting or of his father's back as he strode from the house.

In the distance, he could see this figure walking away. It was shrouded in a ghost-like mist. He ran after it. He needed to reach it. To tell it not to go away. But no matter how fast he ran, the figure just kept getting further and further away.

He felt like he couldn't breath. It like he was being trapped. Then, a sudden wave knocked into him. It was this wave that woke him up. He had slid down in the tub and his mouth and nose were under water. The wave that woke him up was caused by his Akamaru. He heard his master struggling in the bathtub and decided to wake him up by jumping in the bath with him.

After the confusion of what had happened had cleared from his mind, he looked towards his companion and smiled.

"Thanks, buddy." He said a little quietly while he pet Akamaru on the head. This dog was his closest friend right now. It was still about three in the morning so he hopped out of the tub and dried himself off with a towel. Akamaru, on the other hand, couldn't be dried with a towel so Kiba shut the door and moved to hold Akamaru on the floor. He reached over and grabbed the blow dryer. He knew how much Akamaru hated the blow dryer so he held him while he tried to dry him.

The puppy tried and tried to get free but Kiba as holding him tightly. He hate the blow dryer. In fact, he despised it. It made him feel so funny and really hot all the time when it was used on him. Kiba was uncomfortable doing this to his pup because he kept getting scratched by the little dog and they hurt! He kept hold and finished his pup's drying.

"There. Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Akamaru wasn't happy with him. Being dried in that fashion made his fur puff out and he looked like a cat! He hated cats. And he certainly didn't want to look like one!

Kiba opened that bathroom door and Akamaru raced out so that he wouldn't get tortured anymore. Kiba chuckled to himself as he once again went and climbed into bed. Akamaru was there but he would not scoot very close to his master. He was mad at him. Even after Akamaru saved him he subjected him to this awful torture.

Akamaru was brooding and Kiba knew it. But, he just let it happen. He didn't want Akamaru to soak his bed, so he dried him off. Simple and clean. He chuckled to himself again as he repositioned himself and fell into a much calmer sleep.

A/N: So, how did I do this time guys? I know that I haven't updated in forever but bear with me please. I really do appreciate any comments you leave and want you to know that I write these for you guys. Please leave any and all comments for me. Good or bad. I want to know how to improve and if you will stick with me to the end. I love you all. Akira-kun signing off for today. :P


	9. Chapter IX: Mission Control

A/N: So I have been thinking and have been brooding over these recent chapters because an idea of how to continue has been on my mind. I am not sure what to do about it but I'm trying this whole thing again. My writing enthusiasm has been renewed. I just hope you guys's faith in me would be renewed too. I'm happy to have you.

Chapter 9

Naruto felt it again, that horrible heat that gently rested on his face. Every damn morning, without fail, the stupid sunlight would make its way to his face and make him feel uncomfortably warm. He groaned. How on Earth could those curtains not keep out the light that so desperately wanted to wake him up?

He rolled over and covered his eyes with his arm. This could not be happening. He didn't get much rest last night because it was so hot and now the source of the heat was trying to keep him awake as well.

He hated his karma. Now that he was awake, he couldn't go back to sleep. He was too lazy to do anything about the curtains so he just lay there. He wasn't asleep. His body would not permit that to become a reality. Frustration. That is all that occupied his mind at the moment.

Groaning and turning over once more, he intended to get up. It was a known fact that he rolled around in his sleep, so he did not know the exact position he was on his bed. He just happened to be near the edge, so when he rolled over, he fell off.

This snapped him awake immediately. "Fine!," he yelled. He had a habit of talking to himself or the universe who seemed to want to torture him. How could it not even let him get a good night's sleep? Evidently, the universe wanted him out of his bed and out of the house.

He crawled around on his floor until his head hit his dresser. It hurt, but not so much as he wanted to make a big deal out of it. He then pulled himself up and looked into the mirror. He looked like shit. He was still in his clothes from the night before. And, now that he thought of it, how the hell did he get into his own bed? He must have been sleepwalking again.

He would wake up in the strangest places in the morning, but never outside of his home. Oh well. He had better things to worry about. He stripped off his clothes and went down the hall to his shower. The water was warm and inviting. He loved the morning shower. It could clear out every foul thought in his mind and replace it with a foggy happiness.

After the shower was all taken care of, he dug through his room for some suitable clothes. He had a tight black shirt with short sleeves that he found and a nice pair of loose sweatpants that he could practice his taikwando in. They were very comfortable and permitted movement. Over that ensemble he had a small orange jacket. So, in all, he was just a black figure with an orange jacket.

He wandered if he needed to go see if there was a mission. After making a quick meal of some ramen, he ran out the door toward Tsunade's office.

Kiba woke up from his slumber in a panic. The dog had once again tried to reclaim his spot and was suffocating his master. He pushed the dog off of him and tried to get his breathe. He rather did not enjoy the feeling, but he couldn't stay mad at his little friend. Because he even came near Kiba, that means he must have forgiven him for the onslaught of the blowdryer.

"Morning, Akamaru!" He said to his pup.

Akamaru was not too happy about being woken up, but he was glad to see his master in a good mood.

"Wanna have some breakfast?"

At the mention of food, Akamaru's ears perked up significantly. His tail was wagging and he was hungry.

"I thought so." In all honestly, his own stomach was bothering him about needing to be filled.

He hopped up and started to the kitchen. His pup was racing him to get there before he arrived. First he went for the stove to see if Akamaru would notice. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a bark from behind him.

He turned and then filled Akamaru's bowl. The dog attacked it like he had not eaten in a very long time. He smiled to himself as he moved to the fridge to get out some eggs. He cracked two in the skillet and scrambled them. He liked eggs almost as much as he liked bacon. There was a certain philosophy with bacon. Either you liked bacon, or you were wrong.

Pulling down a plate, Kiba emptied the eggs from the pan onto the plate. He sat down at the table and began to eat. This was seeming to be a good day. After he finished, he put the dishes into the dishwasher and went back to his room. He needed to pick out what he wanted to wear for the day. Digging through his closet, he found a nice sea-foam green shirt with the symbol for the leaf village on it. Also, he found a nice pair of blue jeans that have a few signs of wear and tear that he liked.

Once he was dressed, he headed out to walk Akamaru.

Naruto had arrived at Lady Tsunade's office a little later than it normally would have taken him. He walked sluggishly because he was so tired this morning. He found Shizune and asked if Granny was in. She said that she was in the office filling out a bunch of paperwork. She never really cared about that part of the Hokage position.

He walked in quietly and softly closed the door behind him. Such was not his customary form of entry so Tsunade didn't even notice his presence. He approached her desk and said in a soft voice, "Do you have any missions Tsunade-sama?"

She didn't recognize this voice so she peered up. Such was her surprise when she saw Naruto standing in front of her.

She took a moment to analyze her situation. Naruto was clearly not himself and she wanted to know why, but she gave herself a minute to compose herself before she continued the conversation.

"What?" She asked in a calmer than her stressful self could normally manage.

"I said, do you have any missions for me today Tsunade-sama?"

She was taken aback again. He never referred to her as sama. It seemed to be more recently had he began doing this. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"Huh?"

He had no idea why she asked him that. He felt fine. He just felt a little slower than normal, that's all.

"I asked you what's wrong. You look incredibly different. What happened on the last mission? Did something go wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, Tsunade-sama, I'm not hurt. I'm just tired. It was so hot last night that I couldn't stay comfortable. I just didn't sleep well."

She immediately calmed down and went back to her paperwork. So if that was all, she really didn't need to worry about him any longer. She hated the paperwork, but if she put it off any longer, there would be another, larger stack that would be added to this one soon. So she made haste and continued to sign and review the pages that were pushed at her.

"Um, Tsunade-sama."

She looked up once more, with a slight irritation on her visage. "Yes?"

"You still never answered my question."

"What question?"

"Do you have any missions or me? I asked like twelve times." Naruto was beginning to feel more awake now and he hated to repeat himself. He became a little irate himself.

"I've got none for you today. Go home and get some rest."

He did not want her pushing him off like a little pest. It was not something that he cared to allow happen.

"Well, you old hag. Why don't you ever give me a mission when I need one. It's like they are incredibly scarce recently. I can't believe you always just try and get rid of me!"

By now, he was more than a little annoyed. He felt like either he didn't get any missions at all or he got the kind that kept him away from the village for extended periods of time. Nothing made sense as it was running through his head. He was so angry, but had no reason to be so.

Tsunade was gaping at him. A tick had worked its way to her forehead and she had no patience today.

"Well, you brat! I have no missions to give anyone at the present time! Don't feel like I'm just ganging up on you anyway! Missions are scarce right now. And I don't appreciate the tone you're taking with me! Have some respect!"

His mind had cleared some so he realized what he just had said. He immediately lost his steam and felt a little bad for being mean. But, even though he felt bad, he didn't say anything. If it was one thing the blond wouldn't do was apologize. It wasn't that he didn't feel bad, it was just that it was embarrassing to admit that he was wrong.

He bowed his head and said. "Excuse me, Tsunade-sama." And ran out the door.

"Wait!" He had already left. "Damn brat." She was just at her limit for the day. She silently cursed Shizune under her breath for taking and hiding all of her sake.

Kiba wanted to know what he could do to occupy his time. He did get bored easily. Akamaru had enjoyed his walk. So, he decided to make a run to the Hokage's office to see if there was any missions available. He was rather chipper this morning. Nothing could possibly go wrong when he was in such a good mood.

He walked down the hallway to her office. He saw Shizune passing by.

"Hello, Shizune-san," he greeted her.

She was concentrating on her papers that she had to organize for the Hokage. She glanced up and saw Kiba walking towards Tsunade's office. "Good morning, Kiba-kun."

She hurried on her way so that she could get all her work done for the evening. He didn't mind at all. He was there to see the Hokage. As he approached the door, Naruto ran out and fell on him.

"Do you have a habit of falling on top of other people and knocking them over, or is that just me?" He didn't like having gravity suck him to the floor caused by the blond.

Naruto moved off of him and stood up. "Sorry, I didn't see you." He noticed Kiba and helped him off of the floor. "See ya." And he was of again. Barely breaking stride.

_What is wrong with him? _Kiba pondered. Then he remembered why he was here. He turned to see that Tsunade was at the door right in front of him.

"Gyaaah!" He yelled and jumped back. "You really shouldn't sneak up on me like that."

She was frowning and looking passed him. Her attention was then directed toward the dog-nin.

"Have you noticed that Naruto is a little moodier than normal lately?" She asked him.

"No, I haven't really seen him since the mission. He is probably just tired from the last mission. I know I definitely am." His thoughts returned to their original purpose. "Speaking of, do you have any missions available?"

She sighed and went back into the room to her desk. "No, I don't. Naruto came in here looking for one, too. He got upset when I told him that I don't and he stormed out. Saying something like I'm just trying to get rid of him. I don't understand it anymore."

"That doesn't really sound like him at all." He wondered what had the blond boy so on edge. "Well, thanks anyway, Tsunade-sama." he bowed and left the office.

He was bored so he thought he might as well find out what was wrong with Naruto. He knew the blonds scent anywhere. He had to spend a few nights sleeping near him. Tracking the blond didn't pose much of a challenge. He was at the exact place he thought he would find him. Ichiraku's Ramen stand.

The blond was slumped over, slurping the ramen out of the bowl. He walked up and sat down. "Hey, Naruto."

The blond in question glanced over, but made no move to respond. He was trying to clear his mind and think about what just happened. He continued working on his ramen.

"Guess where I just came from." Kiba was trying to prod him to interact rather than just pretend he didn't exist. He did notice that Naruto shrugged. So he went with it rather than forcing a verbal response from the boy. "I was visiting Tsunade-sama to see about a mission." This information was not new to Naruto, at least the part about seeing the Hokage wasn't. The mission part was new, but it didn't take a idiot to guess why he was there. And Kiba kept on without stopping. "Yea, so as I was walking there, I saw Shizune, who looked very busy with her paperwork and all. And right about as I was gonna go in, this really dumb-looking blond kid ran into me and-"

"Are you trying to start a fight with me Kiba?" Naruto was a little miffed.

"Ah! So he does speak." He couldn't help but grin now.

Naruto just grumbled and went back to his ramen.

"My visit turned out unsuccessful because there weren't any missions for me. But, Tsunade did mention something to me about a certain blond boy I know."

This little information did interest Naruto. But, he was not going to divulge that he was interested. It was futile though. Kiba could read the blond's emotions like they were written on the pages of a book.

"I know you want to know what she said. She is worried about you, you know? She asked me if I noticed you acting a little moody lately."

"What did you tell her.?"

"Shouldn't you know? I told her I hadn't because I haven't seen you since the mission. I know it was yesterday, but still. I don't know much of anything about you because before this last mission, we would never talk or hang out because we hated each other."

"Is that still true?"

"I don't know. I guess I have gained a little tolerance for you in this past week." He joked. He liked being able to joke with someone. He never really had anyone to mess around with before. He decided that he liked it.

Naruto, on the other hand, didn't like the sound of that. "You just made me sound like a nuisance!"

"Well, aren't you?"

"I most certainly am not!"

And so the bickering began. Which ended with Naruto getting pissed at Kiba and chasing him around the entire city five times while trying to kick his ass. But, at the end of the banter, they both found a meadow to lay down in because they were dog-tired after running that much.

A/N: How did I do guys? I am having great ideas about where and how this piece is going to progress, but I can't do much without you guys' input. In essence, I am writing blind over here. Please review so I can understand what you guy are thinking. I love you all and I'm glad you stayed with me this long. Akira-kun, signing off.


	10. The Meadow

Chapter X

A/N: Ugh! Writer's Block is such a bitch! I had originally had great plans for this story and all but nothing ever seems to go as planned. I forgot everything and now have no idea where to go from here. If you guys are still with me, then please stay with me. If you just get tired of my writing, then please go find another because I'm afraid I cant change your mind. This story is becoming quite a mind boggler for me and I hope all you loyal readers will give me feed back so I know how I'm doing. I'm, in a way, writing blind here guys. Well, enough of my rant. Back to the story. ^-^

The grass was soft. Or, at least he thought it was grass that was beneath him. He remembered a little of what happened. He knew that once Naruto had tired out, he would give up the case. Oh yeah, he remembered. He had to run for his life because Naruto was in such a rage that he didn't know what would happen if he caught up to him. He smiled. He had won. Naruto had not caught up to him and he was left without any consequence.

He wondered where they were. The meadow that they were resting in seemed nice. They sky gave no immediate hints as to where they were. How far exactly did they run? It was early. That's all he knew. He began surveying the area again. The ground was smooth and rolling, as if it was a hill. He stopped worrying when he noticed the little path that they created when they burst into the meadow. He would just follow his tracks back to the village. And if that doesn't work, he would just use his nose.

Content with what he had deduced in the time he had awoken, he settled down again and let his eyes drift close. He was vaguely aware that the blond was, again, lying on his chest. But as slumber overtook him, he just didn't care.

Naruto

He body felt heavy. It was like his muscles were worn from overuse and they protested any movement he made. He groaned a little. Why was his body so sore? He did, however, feel a source of warmth beneath him. It felt nice. He snuggled into it. He liked this. This glow of heat calmed him a little and helped his body relax.

His eyes opened just slightly so he could see his surroundings. He felt a warm breath on his face. And he saw a mop of brown hair. It was then that he realized that the warmth that he was on was Kiba.

He freaked out. Naruto threw himself backward and landed with a thud on his hindquarters. He was shocked. Why the hell did this have to happen to him? It wasn't fair that he moved in his sleep. It wasn't fair that his body was drawn to the warmth because it was cold last night. It makes no sense. He was hyperventilating.

Kiba

He was awoken extremely abruptly because his body was thrown away from Naruto. He couldn't make sense of what was going on. Naruto looked panicked and had a wild look in his eyes. He was hyperventilating. Kiba tried to grab Naruto's shoulders so he could talk to him but he just freaked out even more and shoved him away.

"Naruto! What's going on? Calm Down!" Kiba pleaded. But he was too crazed to pay any mind to his words.

He got really frustrated when Naruto did nothing. So, he jumped him and grabbed him in a crushing hold. Naruto squirmed but Kiba didn't let go.

"Naruto! Breath! Calm down. Breath, Damn It!"

Naruto started to slow his erratic breathing and his body became lax. He was calming down. It only served to confuse Kiba more because he was so unresponsive when the blond usually could not even keep his mouth shut about anything.

Naruto

He was so shocked. He didn't know what to do. He had woken Kiba and now Kiba was trying to restrain him. Why the hell did this sort of thing always happen to him? Why? It didn't seem fair. How could he always be in the most embarrassing situations all the time? When Kiba tried to grab his shoulders he shoved him away. _No. Leave me alone!_

Ho could not make any of his words coherent or spoken. His body was convulsing. His breathing was sporadic. He was a mess. Kiba tried once more to restrain him. He struggled more but this time he could not get free. He was vaguely aware of Kiba telling him to breath and calm down. He tried. He really did. But his mind was racing. He could not concentrate on anything.

He finally forced himself to breath mechanically and it helped somewhat. His body now became limp in Kiba's arms. His mind was a jumble. This made no sense to him.

He felt Kiba begin to rub his back in a soothing manner. It did help him calm down and focus. He needed the comfort he was being given but he did not want it from Kiba. He did not want it from anyone.

He leaned away from Kiba so that he could be on his own once more. Kiba seemed a little resistant to let Naruto away from him. He was worried he would be back to his unstable behavior again.

It bothered him.

Naruto leaned away from Kiba and sat on his own. "Gomen." It was quiet. But he did say it. "I will see you around some other time Kiba." He said these words as he rose to his feet and headed off in the direction of his home.

Kiba

When Naruto thanked him, he couldn't see his eyes. Naruto was hiding his eyes behind his hair. He let the locks fall in front of his face. He turned and uttered his parting words as he ran of into the forest.

Kiba was still staying where they had slept last night. What had happened? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he and Naruto were sleeping and he was thrown a considerable distance away from his resting place. What the hell was going through Naruto's mind at this moment? The more he thought about it the more he got angry and upset. He was sleeping and it wasn't very nice of Naruto to throw him so damn hard and to wake him up in such a manner.

He was now a little miffed at the blond and closed his eyes so that he could concentrate on his senses. He could smell the boy. He knew in which direction he was and also knew that he wasn't even heading in the right direction. He was supposed to be trying to get back to the village right?

In a huff, Kiba ran after the blond boy so that he could find out why he had thrown him and why the hell he was running away.

Naruto

He was running through the forest. He had no destination in mind but he did know that he wanted to get away. It was wrong right? He needed to get away sop that he could think. Nothing made sense. Why had he done that? Why had he thrown Kiba? Or the better question being, why had he thrown Kiba so far? Kiba was his friend right?

He thought while he was running. His running had wound down to a slow jog. And then it slowed even more to a walk. Kiba was not at fault in this situation. He was and he knew that. But the real question is why did he have to make an ass out of himself? Why couldn't he act normal? Why was he so embarrassed?

All these questions kept his mind busy. So much so, that Kiba had ran past him without his noticing and stood right in front of him. It was far too late before Naruto noticed Kiba and right as he looked up, he ran into Kiba once more. Naruto's forehead collided with Kiba's jaw and it made a horrifying cracking sound.

"Gomen," Naruto said as he rubbed his sore forehead. He really didn't know why he was such a clutts today. He shifted immediately to a more serious tone when he noticed that it was Kiba that he bumped into. "What do you want Kiba?" His voice wasn't harsh. But it wasn't friendly either. Kiba was frowning. He looked like he wasn't about to take anyone's crap this morning. His arms would have been crossed except for the fact that he was rubbing his jaw. And even though his jaw was sore and he was rubbing it, he did not take his eyes away from Naruto. Naruto could tell he was not happy.

"I wanna know what happened. Why did you throw me? Did you intentionally try to piss me off?" Kiba let a little of his frustration out in those words, but Naruto could tell that it was a controlled anger. He was more confused than he was angry and that made it a little less intense.

"Sorry," Naruto said as he tried going another way to avoid Kiba all together. But, as predictable as clockwork, Kiba moved to block his path.

"I want an answer. Why? Just tell me. I won't be mad. Just tell me." He seemed to be telling the truth but Naruto did not want to divulge the information.

"It's none of your business, dogbreath." Naruto had a light shade of pink on his cheeks at this point.

"What do you mean none of my business? I was the one that got thrown as a wake-up call. There is no way that you could say that this is not my business."

"Whatever. I'm going. See you later." He tried to run again in another direction.

"Oh, no you don't!" Kiba had grabbed his arm and pinned him up against a tree. He was going to find out what was going on and he would not let up until he found out the reason.

Naruto's face held no humor in it now. He was calm and his voice was even. His face held no expression. "Kiba, let go." His eyes held Kiba's and Kiba could not see anything in them. There was no way of telling what he was thinking or feeling. These eyes were not the Naruto's eyes that he knew. They were such a dark shade of blue they were almost a slate color. These eyes frightened Kiba. But there was no way in hell that he would let Naruto know that.

He just replied. "No way. Not unless you tell me." This made Naruto's brow curve upward. He was surprised somehow.

"You really want to know?"

Kiba hesitated. Was Naruto going to tell him? He didn't know for sure, but he did want to know why Naruto had thrown his in the first place. So, that made up his mind for him. "Yes," he said in almost a whisper.

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes looking down. He really didn't want to tell Kiba anyway. He should have known the answer when he asked but it wouldn't have stopped him from asking. It was worth a shot after all.

"I…" Naruto tried to choke it out, but his voice would not cooperate.

"What?" Kiba didn't press quickly. But waited until Naruto said nothing else. Naruto was shielding his face now, looking down. His cheeks were burning red. This was gonna be something hard for Naruto to do. The brunet was grinning now. He knew that whatever it was made Naruto incredibly embarrassed.

"It's just that I was embarrassed okay!" Naruto yelled and made some hand signs. His body disappeared in smoke and Kiba was left holding a block of wood. It was a substitution jutsu.

Kiba sighed and turned away from the tree and looked in the direction he knew Naruto had went because he could smell him.

He smiled. Naruto was embarrassed and he had admitted it to Kiba. Now, if Kiba was anywhere near his usual self, he would never let it go at that. He leapt in the direction that Naruto went and the chase was on!


	11. Chapter 11: Confusion and Withdrawal

Chapter XI

A/N: I'm glad to hear from you guys. I have downloaded an app that allows me to create and publish eBooks for the iBooks app and I was just curious that if you guys would like me to create the story in a book for when I'm finished and post it somewhere that you could reach it, I probably would. So far, I am aiming for the story to be around 24 or 25 chapters. There really isn't a plan anymore so we'll just see how it would play out. Also, feel free to review and let me know how you feel about my writing and which parts you like and don't like, okay? ^-^ Story Time!

This chase he would enjoy. Nothing could distract him. But as he was chasing the elusive blond, his mind began to wander. He really was enjoying himself, wasn't he? He hadn't hung out with anyone in a while and all of his friends had other things to do. All that aside, he remembered the aspect of Naruto's embarrassment and that drove him to run faster.

"You do know that you can't outrun me right?" Kiba taunted. He knew that Naruto could hear him but he couldn't see him. He knew that he was further ahead.

"Not a chance, Dogbreath!" Naruto taunted back. He didn't ever intend on letting the dog boy catch him. His pride was much too sensitive for him to relinquish it to the boy following him. How could he possibly tell him that he was embarrassed because he fell asleep on top of Kiba? It's not something he wanted to divulge.

"Well, if you're not going to tell me, then I might as well try to guess, correct?" Kiba was not giving up on this matter.

"Go ahead and try. But I will never tell you!" This guy was so persistent.

"It's because of the position you were in when you woke up wasn't it?"

Naruto froze. He stopped in place so quickly because of his shock. How had he guessed? How could he have known when he wasn't even awake to begin with?

His sudden stop did not give Kiba enough time to change direction or slow down. It took him by surprise. He was moving too quickly so that when Naruto stopped, he plowed right into him and knocked them both over.

As their bodies skidded to a halt on the ground, Kiba noticed that Naruto was wide-eyed.

"How could you know?" Naruto's voice was soft but urgent. He needed to know now.

Kiba was taken aback by the question. How could he know? He knew because he woke up in the night and there he was. Realization hit him when the thought occurred to him that Naruto was not conscious at the time he woke up.

He turned around to hide his blush as he said, "Never mind."

He began walking off when he felt a hand on his arm. "How could you know? Don't leave. Just answer me." The blond's voice was soft now because he didn't want Kiba to leave. He wanted him to stay and explain his knowledge.

Kiba looked down. He felt bad that he hadn't told Naruto when he had the chance. "It's really nothing Naruto. If you are embarrassed about it, I'll just forget it and not mention it. I don't think it was that big a deal because you couldn't possibly know what you were doing while you were asleep."

Kiba looked away again. He couldn't look at Naruto. He knew the crimson had gathered in Naruto's cheeks once more and he didn't want to be embarrassed as well. The hand that was restraining him slipped away and he fled for his home.

Naruto stood there in the little thicket that he had made an unscheduled stop. It was very strange. He had mad a big deal out of this and Kiba just brushed it off like it was nothing. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it wasn't his fault that that happened. It still did not prevent him from being embarrassed though.

He thought back to when he woke up. He was next to Kiba with his head on his chest and his arm outstretched over him. He was holding onto Kiba and using him as a warm pillow.

These thoughts made Naruto's face turn an incredibly dark shade of red. He could not believe he had done that, intentionally or not. Why did he have to be the one that was embarrassed? He knew that Kiba wasn't embarrassed because he just brushed it off like it was nothing. Probably because it was out of his control and not intentional. He couldn't shake this feeling of unease, but he still went home anyway.

The forest was going by so quickly it seemed to be a green tunnel. He was rushing home to his small and dusty apartment. There was no reason other than he needed to get there. His mind was teeming with any and all thoughts that made concentrating an impossibility. All he could do was move toward his home.

The village came into sight and he rushed to make it to his house. On his way home though, he was stopped by Sakura. He was hurtling the rooftops and almost ran into her because she has stopped immediately in front of him.

"Oh, hey, Sakura-san." He greeted her.

"Where have you been?" She asked. She was not pleased, but her mood seemed to be more worry than anything else. Even so, he decided to be more cautious when continuing his conversation with her rather than his normal boisterous self because if he ticked her off enough, his life on this planet would be likely significantly shorter than anyone had originally intended.

"What do you mean?" He wasn't sure how to react to her. What did she mean where had he been? He had been near the village the entire time since he had gotten back from his mission.

"Tsunade has been looking for you and so she sent me to find you, but I couldn't find you anywhere. You weren't at home and you weren't at the usual Ichiraku's ramen stand so I had no idea where to look."

He pondered this for a moment. Why would Tsunade be looking for him? It really made no sense because he didn't screw up the last mission and he turned in the paperwork this time. But why was Sakura looking for him in the place of Tsunade? The old bag must have more paperwork than she could handle right now and Sakura is her student after all.

"Why would she need me? I have turned in the paperwork and the mission was a success. So, the real question is, is this something really important? Or is she just trying to keep tabs on me?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that she is looking for you and I haven't been able to find you. She had me look for you yesterday. And only today did you surface." She was getting annoyed. Him disappearing made her look bad because she could not find him. And Sakura never wanted to look bad.

"Fine. I'll go see what she wants. But if it's something stupid, I will be holding you responsible Sakura-san." He turned to walk away but he was stopped by Sakura's vice-like grip.

"Why must you insist on calling me Sakura-san now? We are closer friends than that right? I mean, why are you being so formal now?" She was moderately curious why he kept up this façade. She knew he always called her Sakura-chan.

"It's nothing." He pulled his arm free and headed to the Hokage's office leaving a stunned Sakura behind.

For a moment, she just stood there, frozen. Sure she was hard on him and he annoyed her sometimes. But they were friends and he used to tell her everything. Now, he told her less and less and saw her less and less. It was as if there was some part of him that didn't trust her any more.

That really hurt her feelings. She knew that it was her thoughts that led to that conclusion but it still hurt. She wanted her little blond friend back that was ecstatic and happy to see her. They used to tell each other everything. The only exception being the people they were interested in. She did not want Naruto to know that she was in love with Sasuke. That simple reason had kept her from prying into his private life. But, as it turns out, he just seemed so transparent that he never really seemed to like anyone at all.

But when they all took the Chuunin exams and Sasuke had been taken, everything changed. She knew she had become more withdrawn and hostile toward everyone. She had eventually calmed down, but she lashed out at him and blamed him for the longest time and she knew it wasn't his fault. Sasuke had left o his own accord and now she had no one. She had Naruto at a time, but now, he was more distant and cautious when he was around her, like he couldn't let his guard down.

Immediately, she felt a pang of guilt over treating him so badly before. She did notice that even when she lashed out, he never changed. He never stopped being her friend.

Gathering her self-respect again, she left where she caught Naruto and headed toward the hospital to begin her shift. If nothing else, she could bury her thoughts and feelings in her work.

Naruto arrived at the office and proceeded to enter. He saw Shizune outside the room and greeted her. He got the approval and entered. As he had previously suspected, Tsunade's desk was heaping with paperwork and he could barely see her behind them.

"You called for me Tsunade-sama?" He began very polite because he didn't know how this was going to play out.

She stopped her frivolous signing and looked up to find Naruto standing a little too rigid than normal. She set her pen down and stood, looking over the enormous stack of files that she had to read and approve.

"Yes. Where have you been?" Her voice was authoritative and her gaze let him know that this was a question that he seriously did not want to try and avoid.

"I was outside the village in the forest. What could be so important that you needed to find me?" He was a little put off by her mood, but said nothing further.

"You disappear and don't tell anyone where you're going and when I need to speak with you, you vanish. Now, explain to me how that is not something that is important enough for me to think about?" Her anger was rising. He could feel it. "I expect an explanation."

Naruto sighed at this and walked closer to her. He sighed once more and looked up into her eyes. She was mad, but not mad enough to forgive him if he had a plausible explanation. "I was at the ramen shop after you had told me there were no missions available. I wasn't happy because I was so bored. Kiba came up to me and asked why I was acting that way. He was just trying to get under my skin and irritate me like he usually does. Anywho, he explained that he didn't get any missions either and that I should stop acting like a baby. So I got pissed and chased him around the village until I was too tired to beat his ass to a pulp. We both were tired of running and it was late. We ended up in a thicket outside of the village and fell asleep. Then we woke up and I was caught in town by Sakura who said that you were looking for me. And now I'm here." He was out of breath because he had managed to say everything quick enough that he got it all out in one breath.

She was a little stunned. He was just outside the village and no one knew where he was. That really didn't make sense.

"So, I ask again, what do you want?" Now it was Naruto that got a little impatient.

"Yes, well, you wanted a mission, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, I have a mission for you. Should you choose to accept it." Now she was just toying with him because it was fun for her.

"Baa-chan! Don't be so mean! You knew I wanted a mission, so give it to me already!"

"Watch your tongue! And stop calling me 'Baa-chan'! The mission I have for you is a covert one. You need to collect information for me and report back with your findings. Are you up to it?"

"Of course, Nee-chan!" He was excited. It has been some time since he went on a mission like this one. He always enjoyed these missions because he was alone and could think and nobody ever bothered him.

"Now, the details." Naruto had slouched down into more of a comfortable position. Being so prostrate wasn't good for one's back and it was very uncomfortable. "I need you to go to the Village Hidden in the Clouds. There, you will need to find a good vantage point and hide out for at lest two weeks. Gather any information on their movements and/or military capabilities."

This mission seemed a little too high a rank for Naruto to take on all by himself. "What is the rank of the mission?" He was curious.

She sighed. "This is an A/S rank mission."

That surprised him greatly. He could usually only do B missions or sometimes A missions. But, never had he ever thought that he would be getting an S rank mission.

"What are the specifications in equipment and personnel?"

She looked a little guilty when she answered his question next. "You can only use level B equipment and this is a single man infiltration and observation mission."

Level B!? That meant that he could only bring his Shuriken and Kunai. Asides from that, he could only use low level explosives like tag bombs. But, what troubled him the most was that he was doing this alone. He knew that this type of mission was on his own, but he had hoped that there would be some form of support because it was such a high level mission. Wait!

His face was alit with panic. "Where are all the Jounin that would normally be sent on missions like these?"

She seemed hesitant to answer. "They are all on missions and if I recall even one of them, their current mission could be forfeit." Also, the reason that I chose a single person instead of a few backup as well is because, in an observation mission such as this, the more people there are, the harder they are to conceal from suspicious eyes. A single person could become lost in a crowd whereas a group would easily be spotted. We have reason to believe that the Hidden Cloud village is pooling their resources and military to launch an attack. You will be sent to either confirm or disprove the information we have."

This was a lot to take in all at once. He understood the importance and he knew that her real reason for sending him was that she knew of his drive to prove himself. If he could complete the harder missions, he would be worthy.

"Understood Tsunade-sama. When do I leave?"

She thought about it and simply stated, "You will leave tomorrow. Pack your equipment and see me before you leave."

"I understand. Ja ne." He hurried out the door before she could get another word in.

"I hope that he can make this mission a success." She hated putting the ninjas she was in-charge of in danger. And she had just put Naruto into an extremely difficult position.

A/N: I wrote more this time because I was happy that I got some reviews. Let me know what you think and tell me how my writings are going. I'm glad you guys are enjoying yourselves with my little self-indulgence. As always, the more reviews the better! Ja ne! Akira-kun signing off. ^-^


	12. Chapter XII: Left Behind Ignorant

Chapter XII

A/N: I took me a while to write this because I had no idea what to write about. I had a draft of about six pages, but I threw it out and started over because I didn't like the direction it was going in. Here is the new (revised) version of this chapter. Let me know how you like it in reviews. I crave them because they let me know how I'm doing and what specifically I need to work on. L'histoire est ici!

His pack was heavy as he contained everything he would need for his little journey into the Village Hidden in the Clouds. He had left the village an hour ago and had made some good head time. But, his pack was weighing him down immensely. A thought had worked its way into his mind and had been distracting him for a while. He thought he could muscle his way to the village without too much trouble but the weight of the pack would slow him down.

He had made up his mind now. He slowed to a stop and set his pack down. Rifling through it all, he separated everything he would need into groups. He had clothes, provisions (rations), weapons, a tent, and some soap and a blanket.

For each group of items, he set out one scroll. All the items were now organized on each scroll. He made a motion with his hands along with some seals. "Sealing Jutsu!" All of the items disappeared into the scrolls as sealed items. Now they wouldn't be that much to carry. He slid each of the scrolls into his backpack and kept on his journey.

Naruto smiled to himself. Yes, his pack was much lighter now and he could move easily without getting tired. It was kind of strange, him not thinking of such a simple technique before. When he was packing, it did not take long to decide what he would take with him because he wasn't in possession of much. His home was tiny, but he liked it. It was probably a good thing that he didn't have any animals to take care of because he probably couldn't take care of them while on a mission and it would have pained him to ask anyone to help take care of it when he left.

This thought struck him as odd. Why was he thinking about having a pet? It had never occurred to him before. Maybe it was because he had spent so much time with Kiba lately. Kiba had a dog, but he never seemed to have him on him when he was with Naruto. It was a little odd in itself. Akamaru was Kiba's partner for fighting. Their fighting techniques were synced together for a good attack. Well, that wasn't exactly true. Kiba had Akamaru on their little excursion to the Mist Village. Or was he? Naruto couldn't quite remember.

He wondered now about Kiba and what he was doing. Naruto felt bad not telling him that he had left. But Tsunade had not given him a lot of time before he had to leave so it was logical to tell no one. He still had this nagging feeling that he should have told Kiba at least.

No. Kiba would find out eventually and it wasn't like he needed to keep tabs on where Naruto was at all times. They were just friends. But why did he feel the need to tell Kiba and not any of his other friends? This thought process was doing nothing but causing Naruto to develop a headache.

He pushed the topic as far out of his mind as he could muster and tried to concentrate on the mission at hand. He needed to get to the Cloud Village and he had never been there before. It was okay though. Tsunade had sent Sakura to disclose exactly how to get to the village before he left.

She had said that there was a marked path that led up the side of a mountain and up past the clouds. That made the name of the village quite literal. He had a long way to go and nothing to do before he got there.

The sunlight trickled through his curtains and landed on the edge of his bed. He was asleep and laying in a very comfortable position. Akamaru lay next to him on the bed because he had developed that habit ever since he was a puppy. Kiba was trying to break him of it but he never stayed off for long. He just waited for his master to fall asleep and climbed on as silently as he could.

Every once in a great while, he would accidentally wake up his master and he would be kicked out of the bedroom completely for the rest of the night. He hated sleeping on the couch at night but it was the only option for him. He could have slept on the floor, but that was slightly less appealing than the couch.

Akamaru was a little worried now though because his master was moving a bit and he was groaning. Akamaru didn't know what to do. Whenever his master had dreams like these, he knew to stay on the floor because he could get the shit beat out of him unintentionally because of Kiba's thrashing. Even though he knew that Kiba would wake up eventually and be okay, he was still worried for his master.

All at once, Kiba shot up out of bed. He was in a cold sweat and he was breathing hard. Akamaru was watching him to see what he would do. What had Kiba been dreaming about? Whatever it was, apparently it had scared him shitless. He just could not shake this feeling that something bad was about to happen?

He got up and moved toward his basket of dirty laundry. He shucked off his underwear and looked around the room. It seemed that he would have to do laundry again. There were clothes strewn everywhere. He picked up his basket and went down the hall to his little laundry room. He was a little grateful for the apartment he was renting being small but having minimal windows, not that he cared whether his neighbors saw him naked or not. He was quite proud of his body. It's not like he would stroll around town naked or anything. He did have a sense of embarrassment. It was just that if there was a peeping tom around, he might be naked, but he would beat the living shit out of them when he caught them.

His laundry brought him back to his task. He separated the clothes into the customary darks, lights, and whites and threw the darks into the washer. He did have the most dark colored clothes so it made the most sense to wash them first.

Having nothing else to do, he decided that it was time for a shower. He let the water run a little to warm up. The pressure was fine for his apartment, but the water didn't get hot immediately. He waited.

Akamaru had trotted up behind him and was pawing his legs. Kiba looked down and his dog whimpered. "Its okay boy. It was just a bad dream is all." He tried to sound reassuring to his pup. Akamaru didn't like when his master had these dreams, but because his master said that it was all right, he let it go. Snorting, he turned and exited the bathroom. By this time, the water was warm and Kiba got in. The luscious heat cascaded over his body. Nothing helped make him feel at ease more than a warm shower.

Outside of the bathroom, he heard his laundry beep as it was finished. Sighing, he turned the water off and stepped out. He had washed himself already and was just basking in the heat. He toweled off with an orange colored towel because his usual black one was in the wash. It also suited his purpose that colors were going in next.

Once the darks were placed in the dryer and set to go, he threw in the color load along with his towel to be washed. It just didn't seem right to him. Laundry day was always so boring and he couldn't really go anywhere until it was done. The only real good thing about having laundry day was that he could walk around his home naked. He wasn't quite sure why, but it made him feel like the place was really his.

Both the machines rumbled the floor. Something else rumbled too. It was his stomach; he hadn't eaten all morning. Moving toward his kitchen, he thought about what he might want to eat. Nothing really stuck out to him so he just made his usual toast, an egg, and some coffee.

He heard Akamaru whine again and he went to go put food in his bowl. No matter how much he wanted to separate himself from his family, they still seem to be on his mind whenever he took care of and fed Akamaru. Maybe it was because he had to feed all the dogs back home.

That was it. There it was. He felt a pang of guilt for leaving them. He was tired of being bossed around like he was nothing. His mother was quite the slave driver, but she was still his mother. He let out a sigh and walked over to the coffee machine that he had already made coffee in it. That was one luxury that he really like having available to him. He put the grounds in at night and set the timer for the coffee to make itself at a certain time each morning. It was fantastic. He had coffee ready when he woke up and that made him smile.

He lifted the pot and poured the warm, dark liquid in a mug that he had. He liked his coffee black without any sugar at all. He just felt that the bitter drink woke him up more than something sweet.

He moved over to his table and sat down to wait for the washer to stop so he could continue with his laundry. He held this cup with both hands as the little wisps of steam flowed up and over the edge. Tentatively, he took a sip and sighed in contentment when it reached his stomach. He needed the little warmth and energy it provided.

Down the hall he could hear the buzz of his dryer and washer going of. Heaving himself up but leaving the coffee on the table, he padded down the hall to change his loads.

Akamaru was watching him. But said nothing. He knew that his master was not a morning person but always woke up to feed him. It was nice. He felt that his master needed someone to talk to aside from himself. Even though he could not respond where his master would understand, he still wanted to talk to him. He knew that Kiba was a loner. His personality made it so that he liked the competition, but he just was more comfortable when he was by himself.

Akamaru looked down, deep in thought. So much so that he did not notice his master come in with a large basket of clothes that were recently washed. Kiba came into the room and saw that his pup hadn't even noticed his presence. Getting an evil idea, he crept closer and dropped the entire basket next to Akamaru making a loud smack as it hit the floor.

Akamaru yelped at the loud noise and moved as far from the basket as possible. He frowned until he saw his master chuckling to himself and he walked up to barked in an upset manner at his master. He did not appreciate it when his master pulled these kind of tricks on him for no reason.

"Awe come on buddy. You know I was only playing." Kiba tried to brush it off as nothing.

Yea it was only nothing. Be grateful that I am not a mean animal that would bite you for a stunt like that. He was not happy that his master had pulled the stunt. It only served to prove how lonely he was if he was gonna pull a prank on his dog. This seemed only to prove his point more. But, alas, he could not communicate well with his master. He needed a friend. He thought a little about that Naruto boy. He seemed to make a good friend for Kiba. They competed with each other and went on missions with each other. He could smell the boy on him because he had such a strong fox smell to him.

Akamaru was brought out of his musings when his master sat down on his chair and started to fold his clothes, placing them on his table in different groups to put away. Laundry was one of Kiba's activities that he didn't exactly enjoy but found that it kept his mind off anything that was distracting or unnecessary. A good distraction every once in a while could prove to be good for a person so that they could wind down and keep a healthy level of insanity.

Kiba finished his menial task of folding his laundry only to hear the buzzer of his second load getting dry. He huffed himself up and went to grab them as well. He returned to his place on a kitchen chair to fold his laundry.

The task at hand took him no time at all. He had all of his laundry done by this time and he placed all of the folded clothing items into his basket and brought them back to his bedroom. He put each of the stacks in their place in his drawers. They fit exactly where they needed to go in each of his drawers. He knew that every time his sister Hana stopped by, she would go through all of his drawers and try and rearrange them. Every time though, she would come, take everything out of the drawers and not be able to fit them all back in complaining about how he was disorganized and couldn't keep his drawers clean. And every time she did this, he would say to leave it alone because she could never get the clothes back in.

Needless to say, he had installed a lock on the door so she could not get in here. It wasn't that he was hiding anything, he just did not want to have to clean up after her again. He was now ready to get dressed for the day.

He rifled through his clothes because he knew what he wanted to wear for the day. He pulled on some black briefs. These were his favorite and he liked the way they felt. He then went to his pants drawer. He shuffled the items around until he found his black jeans. He then proceeded to slip those on as well. These pants were tight near the top but were loose around his legs. They had chains that hung off of the belt loops and also some studs down the sides. He liked these. They were nice for casual wear.

Finally, he went to his shirt drawer. The shirt he wanted to wear was on top because he made sure to put it there so that he could wear it. This shirt was a tight tee shirt that had a fluorescent design of a swirl on it with the slash of claws through it.

He felt fresh and clean and ready to face the day. Now it was time for him to go and find a certain blond kid that he liked to annoy beyond comprehension.

That is the next chapter guys. I have been so tired from all the finals I've had to deal with and being sick. I hate it so much. I appreciate you guys reading my story and I hope that you all would review to help make my writing better. I am thinking of another story idea but I am not going to pursue it until I complete this one. Ja ne!

Akira-kun Signing off! (._.)


	13. Chapter XIII: Missing

**Here is a shout-out to all my readers. I am a little embarrassed of myself because of the inconsistent updates. I am proud of all of you that have reviewed for me so far and I have made the decision to PM every one of my reviewers to give them feedback on what I thought about their reviews and suggestions. I have been so obsessed with having feedback from my story that I thought that those of you that reviewed also deserve feedback for helping me. I hope you enjoy this chapter reviewers. I decided that this would be a little unconventional because of the situation at the beginning of the chapter. Don't worry about what's gonna be different. You all will see so soon enough. It makes me smile when I see that you all enjoy my story. Well, enough of my rant. (I've been doing that a lot lately) Here is the Chappie.**

Chapter XIII: Missing

I was fuming. Why did this sort of thing have to happen? I marched into the building that held the Hokage's office. Shizune was walking down the hall near Tsunade's office and saw me and my angry visage. She tried to slow me down or calm me down but that would not happen right now. Tsunade had some explaining to do.

"Hey! Calm down! You don't have to be so mad. Just breath a little. Lady Tsunade is really busy right now. I wouldn't want to bother her." Shizune stumbled for anything that would appease me. But I was not happy in the slightest.

"Excuse me, Shizune, but I am here to talk to Tsunade. So kindly step aside because I do not want to force you!" I was being curt and rude to Shizune and I know that she did not deserve it. But I needed to see Tsunade now and nothing would deter me.

I marched into her office and slammed my palm on her desk. She looked surprised at the noise of my hand but she did not care for my anger.

"What on Earth do you think you are doing here banging your hand on My desk?" Tsunade asked without much patience.

"I want you to explain to me exactly why you sent Naruto away." I was pretty upset. No one knew about this little mission of his or the fact that he would be gone for a while. I had tried to ask around and find out what the mission was and how long he was gonna be gone, but all I could find out was that this would be a longer mission and that he was sent alone.

"I know that you are worried. But you don't need to come barging in here acting extremely pissed off to find out. Control yourself! If you want the information I will tell you. But you need to get a grip on yourself."

At her words, my resolve faltered. This was not like myself. I didn't act like this. I immediately felt so embarrassed at my actions and went to sit in a chair in front of her desk.

"Gomen Nasai! Tsunade-sensei. I don't know what came over me. I just got so mad because people were hiding things from me and I hated being left out."

At my words, she gave a small smile and sat back down at her desk. "Shizune!"

"Yes, Milady?" She had popped her head through the door to see what the Hokage had wanted.

"Please bring some tea in for us. We might need some time to talk so cancel any appointments that I had for the next little while okay?" Tsunade wasn't mean but she commanded attention. Shizune looked at her little notebook that held the schedule and determined that there was nothing too crucial on it that couldn't be rescheduled and nodded. She went for the tea.

In the office, the two sat and waited for the tea. It was not long before Shizune returned with the pot and two cups. "Thank you Shizune. Now wait outside until I call you and turn anyone that comes away."

"Yes, Milady." She bowed and went out, closing the door behind her.

Tsunade took a cup and poured herself some tea, adding some sugar to it. She poured some for her guest and handed it to him. "Sugar?"

"No thanks." He said off-handedly.

She sat back and blew on her tea. It was quite warm. Just how she liked it. Tea seemed to calm her and make things much easier for her to deal with. Placing the cup down she sighed. "So what is this all about Iruka?"

The man in question was sitting back in his chair and watching the wisps of steam escape his teacup. He looked up to her and gave a wry smile. Then his lips turned flat as he was thinking about what he would say.

"I want to know about Naruto. Where did you sent him and why. I want to know how long he will be gone and I want to know what the mission is." He looked at her, knowing full-well that she could not just divulge information at her leisure and that if it was important enough, he would never find out.

"Tsunade studied him for a moment before she responded. "I figured that is what you wanted so I took some precautionary measures by not allowing anyone to bother us." He looked at her then and understood why she acted the way she did at his entrance. She new he was interested in Naruto's whereabouts and decided it best to tell him. But how much was yet to be determined.

She took a sip of her tea and sighed once more. This was gonna be a long explanation. "Naruto is going on a long mission that infiltrates the Village Hidden in the Clouds. I didn't want anyone to know of this mission." She paused to take another sip from her cup.

"Why not. We don't exactly have an unfriendly time with the Hidden Cloud village."

She swallowed more of her tea before continuing. "We had received some intel that the Cloud village has been moving and assembling an army. For what purpose, we have yet to determine. That is what Naruto is there for. He is small enough that he can hide pretty well while still having a good enough distance to find out what is going on. He can also defend himself well and has been trained by exceptional Shinobi."

"That isn't the point. Why didn't you have anyone know of his mission?"

"Iruka. You of all people should know why. A Shinobi's mission is always supposed to be classified. And this was especially risky with a leak of information because if they are gathering military forces and find out that we are sending over a spy, they would first kill him and then turn to us as an enemy. This would not be in any way acceptable to me or those God-damn elders." She huffed a little because she was worked up about how those pruney, old hags made the decision for her as to what the mission entailed. She was the damn Hokage, so she should have been able to make the executive decision.

"I understand Tsunade-sama. I am sorry for causing such a ruckus today."

She was brought out of her mental rampaging when she heard his apology. She looked at him and smiled. This was the Iruka that she knew was level-headed and a damn fine shinobi. "It's okay Iruka. I know how much you adored Naruto. He is growing up and becoming a strong Shinobi. I am glad that you took care of him. He has a good mentor in you."

"Thank you Tsunade-sama. I really do worry about him and when he is gone, I want to know where he is. He is my responsibility."

"I know you feel that way. And I am glad to hear that, but this mission is his own. I forgot to tell you this but don't get mad."

"Okay. I promise that I won't get mad."

"I sent him on this mission. But it is a high ranked mission."

"Okay. How high?"

"This is an A/S ranked mission." After she uttered those words, all that greeted her was silence. She peered up to Iruka who looked shocked but also was deep in thought. She really didn't know how to combat this situation. He didn't react like she thought he would. Either he was not mad and he just wanted to figure it out. Or he was really good at keeping his word.

"How long?"

"Excuse me?" She had no idea what he was talking about.

"How long is he going to be gone?"

She pondered this a little. "He should be gone for just less than a month. He needed to gather information and report it back to me. This was a covert mission after all."

Iruka seemed to take this into account. He seemed to be running a complex calculation through his mind when he looked up. Worry was in his eyes, but she could also see that he had come to some sort of decision. "He should be fine as long as he is not discovered."

She let out a breath from the relief that flooded through her. He was right after all. If Naruto did not get discovered, he should be fine. But, if for some reason he did get discovered. They would never see him again. She didn't know if she could live with that. But, she had to make some pretty tough decisions as to what to do because she was the Hokage.

"I agree with you compl-"

"Tsunade-Sama!" She did not get to finish her sentence when her door busted through and out jumped a brunet mop of hair that was accented by the red tattoos on the cheeks. Kiba looked a little confused as to why she was looking at him like he did not belong there at the current time but that didn't matter at the moment.

"I'm so sorry Lady Tsunade! He just rushed in and before I could tell him to stop, he busted through your door." Shizune was so scared that she had let the Hokage down and that she might be getting yelled at soon. She had her head bowed as she waited for a response.

"It's quite alright Shizune." Tsunade said to calm the nerves of her subordinate. Her calm gaze then turned toward Kiba because he was the one responsible for her wrecked door. She was not so friendly now. She spoke with a business-like authority. "You do know that the cost of the door is gonna come out of your pay right?"

Kiba looked a little embarrassed because he wrecked the door, but that is not what concerned him right now. He shook his head to clear it of any thoughts and concentrate on his original purpose. "Yea, well, I came here to ask you about Naruto. I was looking for him throughout the village and he wasn't anywhere."

Tsunade started to speak only to be interrupted by Iruka. "He is on a mission and he won't be back for around a month or so." It was impossible to not see the crestfallen expression on Kiba's face upon hearing the news. Sure he was friends with the boy, but now he didn't have anyone to bother.

Iruka went over and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. Kiba looked up. "Don't worry about him. He should be fine. I came here looking for him too and Tsunade-sama told me that he will be fine and back. It's just a longer mission is all."

He smiled to reassure his previous student. He didn't really know Kiba very well, but he did know that he was pretty loyal when it came to his friends.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei. I suppose I need to go then. I got some stuff I need to do." He turned and left much less ostentatiously than he entered the room.

When she was sure that Kiba was out of earshot, she turned to Iruka. "Thanks for the quick response. It is better that he doesn't know the full extent of the mission."

Iruka only nodded and went to the door himself. He got through and went down the hall. He needed to relax and get home. When he was outside the building he took to the rooftops to get home. The run was uneventful and he needed a good stress reliever for all this worrying he did today. He wanted to settle down at home with a nice book and his favorite chamomile tea. That was his favorite place to be in the whole world.

He landed outside his apartment and walked the stairs to get to his floor. When he pulled out his key, he felt cool hands coil around his stomach and pull him to a broad chest. The breath on his left ear was scorching. "Have you missed me, Iruka-Sensei?"

He both loved and hated when the man said his name like that. It made him feel so weird inside. He was out of breath before he knew it. "Kakashi. When did you get back? You weren't supposed to be back from your mission for another few days." He leaned into the chest behind him. Kakashi just seemed to be the best support for anything that was bothering him.

He hummed in Iruka's ear as he considered his answer. "I finished early so that I could get back here. I missed you Sensei." He tightened his hold on the man. Iruka leaned out of his embrace this time and went to unlock the door. He needed to get inside. He was far too dignified to be seen doing things like this in public.

When he was inside he turned to see the man just standing there looking at him where he was standing before. He didn't seem too inclined to move at all. Huffing, Iruka grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him inside. "A bit forceful aren't we Sensei?" Now Kakashi was just playing with him. That pissed him off.

Iruka just huffed again and turned on his heals to head toward the living room. He didn't really care if Kakashi was following him or not. He needed to get to his book. He sat down on his couch and grabbed his book on the coffee table beside it. He opened it and began to read. He did notice the shift in weight on the couch and looked up to see Kakashi looking bored.

"I just need to get my mind off things Kakashi." He understood when Iruka was stressed and he let him be. Plus he had his own little book to be reading. Iruka didn't notice when Kakashi got out his little orange book and began reading.

They both had been reading for around ten minutes or so when Iruka got to a good part and sighed. He looked over and saw what little bit of literature that Kakashi had decided to occupy his time with reading. A tick had began to work its way onto his brow and e was getting frustrated. Iruka yanked the book out of Kakashi's hands and threw it across the room.

Kakashi looked over to him with a neutral expression. "Why did you do that?" He acted as if he was talking about something so trivial and it really ticked off Iruka.

"What do you mean? Why are you reading that garbage?" He was upset. He didn't like that trash that that perverse toad sage wrote.

"I f you recall, we had this discussion once already. I like reading these books. I have no reason for it. But what about you? I had you read one remember?" He looked expectantly at Iruka then.

"Yea, well I couldn't finish it." Of course he couldn't! It was so filthy and embarrassing. His face was so bright from embarrassment from the remembering what he had read. Some of those stories could be so descriptive that he shuddered.

"Well, I'm tired, so continue reading if you wish, but I'm gonna nap." At this, Iruka nodded and went back to his novel. But no sooner had he started to read than he was pulled to Kakashi. He laid his head on the man's chest and continued to read until he was tired. He fell asleep on the man's chest, the book long forgotten and on the floor.

**Hey guys. I spent so much time on this that it really killed me. But, once I felt the inspiration, it got me to add this. I think I'm back on track. Don't forget to review. I would be more than happy to respond and hear some feedback. Ja Ne! Akira-kun, signing off.**


	14. Chapter 14: Homeward Bound

**Chapter XIV**

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm glad that all of you are still reading this even though I'm a little surprised anyone is still reading this at all. Anywho, this chapter is a long time coming on. I am so sorry for the wait, but this semester of college has been really hard on me. All of the workload has been doubled. I want to warn you guys that this chappie has some fluff in it, but it won't be what you are expecting. Have fun and I hope you enjoy it.

The greenery around him was thin and he could hardly keep hidden. He knew that he needed to stay that way and the dense fog around him was helping conceal his existence. But, when it cleared, could he keep his whereabouts masked? He hoped so. So far, he had been in the Hidden Cloud village area for a very long time. Maybe about two weeks? It was about time for him to leave. He had gathered the intel that was necessary for him to complete his mission, but he needed to sneak out before the enemy could gather that he was there. At the moment, he was nestled behind a bush in a small enclave area that offered the most shelter from view. He knew that the thin bush wouldn't conceal him under normal conditions, but it would hide him within the fog. The only problem being that he could not tell if there were enemies around scouting the area and he could run into one without the slightest notice. This was a very dangerous game he had been playing.

Focusing all of his energy in suppressing his chakra into thin threads that went in all directions from his body, he decided it be time enough that he move on and leave the high mountains that held the Hidden Village so well. This technique he used was more for the gifted puppeteer users. But, he learned to make use of it as more of a defensive mechanism. The way he understood it was like antennae. If there was a slight disturbance in the area around him in a chakra network, he could detect the person and plan accordingly.

This new talent was originally forced upon him because he needed to learn how to use his chakra in a way that proved he could maintain control. Granny from the Sand village had explained it to him once before she died, but never got to teach it to him. So with his plethora of time to sit and wait, he made good use of his excessive chakra. This technique had saved him three times while he was here.

He neared the exiting area up ahead and noticed that the guards were still there. He needed to be tactful and smart about going around them or he would not have a welcoming reception at home. He silently moved up a hill to one side and waited for his strings to scope out the area and give him information on the layout. It was times like these that he cursed not being able to see and also praised it for them not being able to see him. He hated the irony of it.

Naruto had managed to locate a small path that led away from the guards but doubled back on the other side. Just to be on the safe side he conjured up a shadow clone and disguised it as a generic looking ninja. It would do him no good if the enemy found out that there was a ninja here and also know what he looked like. He also took away any indications of a symbol on his Hitae' Ate. He cautiously sent it down the path allowing it to contain enough chakra to use the string technique. Naruto then used his chakra to attach a small thread to the clone to see if anything went wrong and act accordingly. His clone has reached the bend in the path where it doubled back. There was nothing near so he had the clone stop and he catch up.

Once in sight of the clone, he had it move the rest of the way down the path. He was home free. But, for a safety measure, he did not take the path but instead travelled through the forest. He used the clone to scope ahead but felt no excessive need to do so.

Naruto felt great about the success of his mission. He knew now the information that was necessary to collect and he felt confident he had done the Leaf a good service. He could not wait to go back home and hang out with his friends. He wondered if Kiba would even remember him. Of course that was ridiculous because he would have only been gone for a month. That wasn't that long of a time was it?

He paused in walking toward the front gate of his village. Why the hell was he thinking of Kiba out of all his friends? He considered it and then shrugged thinking it was weird to think it was weird to think about one friend over another. Now he just felt stupid. As he approached the gate, he saw the general gatekeepers sitting and watching.

He smiled and waved at them. The one with the bandana looked at him and wrote down that Naruto had returned. Naruto, the ever mischievous one, shouted out a, "What up, Turkey Legs?" He knew that this set off the bandana-nin more than anything else.

The ninja in question stood up and made a move for Naruto yelling something about his real name being something or other. Naruto giggled but he couldn't hear what the other was saying because he ran hard to get to the Hokage's office. He snickered once more as he entered the office without even breaking stride.

"Well, Granny. I got what you wanted." He said as he moved to stand in front of her desk. She was momentarily distracted by her paperwork that it did not even register what he said. She looked up and smiled just slightly. He knew that she knew that the news that she was after might not offer her the solace that she was after. It was not a good thing to have enemies.

"Hello, Naruto. How was the mission? I do have to say that it was much quieter while you were out." She let it seem like they were both professionals when she knew very well the nature of their arrangement. "So the results of your little excursion?"

He looked at her for a minute, curious about the formal demeanor that she was demonstrating with him. Then he pulled out a scroll and opened it to summon his sealed field report with notes on observations that he had made while on the job. He handed her the folder and put away the scroll. "As you can see, there really was no evidence that they were moving their forces against us or at all really. I did have some trouble sneaking around without their noticing. Covert really isn't my thing. But I did manage and have not been found the entire time. As you would say, I _evaded detection._" He said that last part while trying to imitate Lady Tsunade.

She looked up from the file not very pleased at his ploy at making fun of her. But, she could let it slide because he just completed a very important mission for her. Even though it turned out to be nothing, it still was a good point of information. This intel could affect how they conduct policies with the Cloud Village.

"I suppose you want to take your leave now?" She eyed him a little more an d noticed that he appeared both tired and excited for some reason. She just let it off as he was happy to be at home again.

"If you don't need me for anything else, I would like to take off for a little while and recharge after that mission. I've had quite a few close calls while I was there." He stated more matter-of-factly than anything else.

"Fine. You may go." She told him. He began walking to the door but just about when he was going to go through she said. "Get some rest, Naruto. You've earned it."

He turned and gave her that bright smile that he was known for and slipped out the door.

Kiba was walking through town picking up some groceries for Tsume. He had Akamaru with him and was heading home with the bags when he was knocked over sending the groceries flying from his hands.

He sat up and rubbed his head because whoever had collided with him had knocked their skulls together. "Geez! Watch where you're going." He had yet to open his eyes.

"Sorry. I was just trying to get home and I suppose I didn't see you."

Wait a minute. He knew that voice. It was Naruto. He opened his eyes and sure enough, there was Naruto, sitting on his ass as well rubbing his head too.

"Hey, Naruto. When did you get back?" He was kind of curious about the little blond ninja. He had just up and left without anyone knowing where he went.

"Yea, sorry about the running into you thing. I just got back from my mission that Tsunade had me assigned to. It took forever."

"Well, I suppose it is good that your back. You look tired. Wanna come and have dinner at my place? Mom wanted me to pick some things up for her but the rest is just for me."

"Yea sure. I suppose that would be fine. I was gonna see Iruka-sensei but he is probably busy anyway. I thought you lived alone."

"What? Oh, I do. I was just helping out at the compound and Mom asked me to go pick up some things. Well, more precisely, she ordered me to do it."

"I thought you were all rough-and-tough and don't get bossed around m=by your mom anymore?" Naruto knew he was taunting Kiba, but he couldn't help it.

"I am not being bossed around by her! You piss her off and then we'll talk."

"Yea, yea. Whatever."

"So are ya coming or not?"

"I guess I'll go. I hadn't had anything better to do anyway."

"Well then help me pick up all the stuff that you knocked out of my hands."

"Fine. Sure whatever."

All the while, Akamaru was sitting and watching this display. He had not one opinion over the other on the outcome of this charade. All he knew was that when they dropped off the food at Tsume's, he was gonna stay and enjoy the meal there. Tsume knew some pretty good ways to cook. Kiba may not appreciate it, but she did cook well.

After all of the groceries had been picked up and placed in the bags. The two boys raced to the compound to show that one was better to the other. That and the fact that they were hungry was a little more motivation for them to move their asses so they can eat.

Tsume wasn't very happy that most of her groceries were spilled on the ground and she angrily chased after Naruto and Kiba when she got her groceries. She was freaking scary! She put the fear of God in Naruto and he didn't even want to chance looking back. A safe distance from Tsume and a close proximity to Kiba's home made the path back a little easier to manage.

"Damn! Your mom is scary. I thought she might actually put me in the ground." Naruto now understood why Kiba had decided to move out. One false move on his part and he stepped on a whole fleet of landmines. "I am so sorry dude."

"You see what I mean? It's no big deal now but I never wanted to tread on her bad side. She was slightly angrier because she hadn't eaten and we had the food. And to add insult to injury, we dropped the food all over the ground. Granted that happened to my food as well, but that don't matter."

They chitchatted about and laughed until they got to Kiba's house.

He had fallen asleep again. This was not boding well for him at all. He moved his head a bit to reposition it and looked around. His book lay on the floor again. He was wondering if he was ever going to finish it. The sound of deep even breaths grabbed his attention. He smiled to himself. Kakashi had stayed over again and kept him company while he read. He knew that the Ninja had wanted to be with him. It was nice. Kakashi was a freaking horn-dog but he kept himself at bay.

They were lying on the couch. Kakashi was against the back of the couch while Iruka was sort of pressed up against him. He was reading last night and was facing away from Kakashi, but now he was snuggled up against him and had his face pressed against his broad chest. He rubbed his face into Kakashi and breathed in his scent. He loved the way that the man smelled of winter and pine. Nothing could compare to him.

Kakashi's breathing increased a little as he was beginning to wake up. He slightly stretched and looked down to the man pressed up against his side. "Hey." His statement was simple but it held the happiness he felt for the man in front of him.

"Hey, yourself. Wanna move this to a more comfortable place?" He wanted to finish his sleep in his bed rather than on the couch because he knew it would make his back ache so much.

"I suppose we could do that. Or, we could do something else." Kakashi had leaned in against Iruka's neck to whisper the last sentence. He let his lips ghost over the tender flesh, grinning when he felt the goose bumps that were rising on Iruka's skin.

Iruka felt the little play and he really didn't need this right now. He had a lot of work he needed to do tomorrow and he couldn't miss out on sleep tonight, no matter how tempting the offer.

"No Kakashi. We can't. I've got class tomorrow and I don't want to have a sore back to deal with along with all those kids. We really can't do this now." He tried to sound convincing; he really did. But his shivers were only egging Kakashi on and he knew that. Those lips had released that sinful tongue that was now darting all over his collar and shoulder. He could not let this continue or he would get lost in the sensations.

He pulled his hands up and gently pushed on Kakashi's chest. "I can't Kakashi. I'm pushing it thin as I can already. I have so many deadlines and the paperwork is hell. I can't do this right now, no matter how much I want it." He leaned in and kissed Kakashi's supple lips. He wanted him to understand that he was not rejecting him, but needed to not have this happen yet.

"Well, if you need time, I understand. But we need to reschedule." He leaned in and stole another kiss from his little teacher. In the process, he rolled over on top of him and got off of the couch.

"What are you-?" He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence. Kakashi had picked him up bridal style and was carrying him to the bedroom. "What do you think you are doing? I am perfectly capable of walking on my own."

"I know that. But I'd rather carry you. I like it when you are in my arms."

Iruka blushed like a madman there. He hadn't expected Kakashi to say such things. They reached his bedroom before he had any time to think of anything else. Kakashi put him down on his feet and walked over to the closet. He then pulled off his shirt and began working on his mask. Iruka loved the look of his lean strong body. At first, he was shocked at all the scars that marred his skin. But now, they were beautiful too because they were a part of him.

Iruka was happy that only he got to see Kakashi's entire face. It made him feel special. He snuck up behind Kakashi and wrapped his arms round his stomach. He pressed kisses all along his shoulder blades and on the back of his neck.

"You are so contradictory Iruka-sensei." Kakashi quietly stated. "You tell me that we can't do this and now you are making moves on me. That is a bad way to teach if you don't live by your own rules." He didn't mean any of it of course because he was just happy to get the attention from his little teacher.

"I saw you getting ready for bed and I thought I might assist you. You can get the mask off and I'll take care of your pants. Sound fair?" He knew that he didn't play fair, but he loved teasing his shinobi. He received a nod of approval and began to work on the pants. He reached around from behind and began undoing the button. He didn't miss it when he felt Kakashi lean back against him either. After the button was taken care of, he moved the zipper down slowly.

"I insist you take them off, Iruka-sensei." He chuckled to himself when he got a small smack in the side from Iruka. He was just too cute.

Making quick work of the pants, he discarded them to the side and turned to return to the bed, but not before strong arms threaded their way around his midriff. He could feel Kakashi's warm breath over his ear. "Now, that's no way to play Iruka-sensei. If you are gonna undress me, then it is only fair that I undress you." Iruka too a quick intake of breath when Kakashi pulled his shirt off of him while caressing his chest in the process.

One of Kakashi's fingers graced over one of his nipples. He gasped. Kakashi just held him there for a moment. Re-familiarizing himself with the contours of Iruka's body. His hands travelled lower to the edge of his pants. "Kakashi, no." Iruka knew where Kakashi's mind was wandering and he was not about to let it happen. He had responsibilities and if he got too far down this rabbit hole he knew he would gladly say to hell with the future.

"Shhhhhh. Iruka. It's alright." His breath tickled Iruka's ear as his lips gently graced the outer shell of his ear. Kakashi unzipped his pants and pulled them down and eventually off along with Iruka's underwear.

Iruka was pressed up against Kakashi while they both were naked. This scene was so sensual. He could feel every aspect of the man's body. He turned toward Kakashi and pushed away from him and leaving him standing in front of his closet. He did see the hurt expression as he walked toward the bed but didn't leave it there for long.

"I need my sleep. So are you gonna join me or what?" In truth, he wanted Kakashi. He wanted to do what he could not. And he wanted to be wrapped in that warm embrace. But he could not fulfill all of those wants to he would settle with the only one he could have.

Kakashi moved toward the bed and slid under the covers behind his little teacher. He turned on his side and pulled Iruka close. He held him and gleaned in the warmth that he was receiving. "That's what I wanted Kakashi. I wanted you. Nothing more." Iruka said this in lazy sleepy speech.

Even though he knew Iruka could not see his face, he grinned. He had made his Iruka happy and that was good enough for him. "Night, 'Ruka." He said these words between feather-light kissed he planted on Iruka's neck and jaw. This was a good night.

A/N: I want to thank everyone for reading this and I apologize greatly for this update being so late. I know that there is some major fluff in this chapter but not the ones you were expecting. I'm greatly sorry that the relationship is not developed as much as I would like. I'm gonna shove off for now. Ja Ne! –Akira-kun- ^^


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